The Fighting Dreamers
by AndrewK9000
Summary: Six Years after the Chunin exam; Naruto & his fellow Shinobi must save a distant kingdom from invasion, while he &d Hinata finally allow their feelings to come out into the open. Containes elements of 300, Enchanted, Death Note & Hokuto No Ken.
1. Prologue: Saving a Friend

Greetings fellow readers and writers! This is my first full Naruto fic and it is gonna blow your mind, believe it!! I've been toying with the general idea for this fic for some time now, but it was only after seeing 'Enchanted', from which I draw a lot of elements, without permission from Disney, (don't sue me), that I finally got down to writing. I also borrowed ideas from '300', another great movie, and also the hit anime/manga 'Death Note,' and a lot of other Anime. Again, don't sue me. And so, please read, review, and most of all, enjoy!!!

**Prologue: Saving a Friend**

…Four Years After the Chûnin Exam…

"SASUKE!!!"

It has been a long and difficult journey for Naruto Uzumaki, one filled with hardship and pain he could never have imagined back when he was still flunking the Clone Jutsu test. But now, after nearly a year and a half since he returned from his training journey with Jiraiya, Naruto has the perfect opportunity to fulfill his promise to Sakura. Finally, he's going to bring Sasuke Uchiha back home.

"I know you're here, Sasuke!!" Shouted Naruto as he stood on the edge of an abandoned quarry, "Come out! Stop running from me, you damned coward!!" At nearly 16 years old, Naruto was without a doubt the tallest among his age group. He had allowed his bright blond hair to get a little longer, yet his strikingly blue eyes remained full of the same wild energy he had back when he became a Genin, but that energy was much more under control. The bright sunlight of early afternoon gleaming off his headband, which displayed the symbol for The Hidden Leaf Village. Underneath his orange and black jacket, he still wore the crystal Tsunade gave him. Today, Naruto hoped that the 5th Hokage's gift would bring him luck; he sure was going to need it.

Naruto jumped from the quarry edge and easily landed on the rock floor. He stood up, "It's time we finished it, Sasuke! Today we decide once and for all which of us is stronger!"

"Don't make me laugh, Naruto!!" From somewhere in the boulder strewn quarry came Sasuke's voice, "Isn't it obvious by now? With the powers Orochimaru gave me, I am the superior Shinobi."

"So you are here," said Naruto, "Good, I can finally pound some sense into that overly thick skull of yours! And as for your new powers, how many times do I have to tell you? Orochimaru only wanted you so he could stick his twisted soul in your head!"

"I knew that from the beginning," said Sasuke, "I knew exactly what Orochimaru wanted from me. But that doesn't matter. I've destroyed Orochimaru; he'll never trouble The Hidden Leaf Village again. So just leave me alone, Naruto."

"If you say you're no longer under Orochimaru's sway," said Naruto as he headed into the boulder laden maze of the quarry, "Come home."

"You know I can't do that," said Sasuke, "I can never go back to The Hidden Leaf Village. I've been labeled a traitor. Every Jônin in the village would be after my head if I ever set foot back there. But that's not going to happen, I have no desire to return to the village. And I have other reasons for staying away."

"Of course," said Naruto, "Your brother. Listen to me, Sasuke; I also have a bone to pick with Itachi; him and The Akatsuki. They're all out to rule the world, but we can beat them, if we work together. Come home with me, and we can destroy Itachi, together."

"Itachi is my responsibility!!" snapped Sasuke, "He murdered my parents and the whole Uchiha clan! If anyone's going to kill Itachi Uchiha, it will be me, not you!!"

"You honestly believe you can take on your bother all alone?" Naruto asked, "I seem to remember an incident six years ago. Itachi and one of his Akatsuki allies tried to kidnap me and take the spirit of the 9-Tailed Fox demon. You ran all the way from home to the town where Pervy Sage and I were looking for Granny Tsunade, just so you could warn me of the danger. I'm still touched that you cared back then."

"What's your point?" Sasuke asked.

"My point," said Naruto, his voice bolder, more confident, "Is that you tried to kill Itachi, and he nearly killed you instead. What makes you think you'd do better now?"

Naruto had no idea just how close he was to spotting Sasuke; the last survivor of the Uchiha clan was less than twenty paces from the blond Chûnin. "As I seem to recall," said Sasuke with a smirk on his face, "You didn't fare so well that day either. I remember that Itachi's companion Kisame had you at his mercy, something that shark-faced bastard has little of."

"I admit," said Naruto, "I didn't know what I was getting into at the time. But I've changed since then, Sasuke, and so can you."

"I've already changed, Naruto," said Sasuke, "My Shinobi prowess has nearly doubled since our last encounter. Now, are you going to say anything useful? If not, I suggest you leave me alone and stop wasting my time!"

"Alright then," said Naruto, "I'll get down to brass tax; nearly six years ago, I made a promise to Sakura that I'd bring you home. Today I bring that promise to a head, believe it!"

"You can't be serious!" Sasuke chuckled, "Is Sakura still crooning over me? Honestly, you'd think she'd move on by now."

"I may not know much about girls," said Naruto, "But one thing I know is that when a girl loves a boy, she never gives up on him, even if he's a spineless, cowardly rat-bastard assh#le who doesn't deserve to belong to a clan. As far as I'm concerned, you're just an orphan, like me. As far as I'm concerned, the Uchiha clan doesn't exist, it never existed, it never will exist."

Suddenly, Sasuke appeared ten paces in front of Naruto, a look of utter rage on his face. He was dressed as a vagrant Samurai, with blue pants and a white shirt. A katana sword was strapped to his back. Sasuke had also let his hair grow out a bit, but his black eyes gleamed with hate. "You take that back," Sasuke said through gritted teeth, his red Sharingan Eye threatening to erupt into the open, "I mean it!! Take it back!!"

_Finally,_ thought Naruto, _I've struck a tender nerve. Now for the next phase._ "You want me to take it back?" Naruto taunted, "You want me to take back that you are without honor? That your family's honor died back when you were just a little kid who could barely remember his hand signs? Now who's making me laugh!?"

"How dare you!!" spat Sasuke, the curse mark on his left shoulder pulsing in sync with his rage, "I had all twelve hand signs memorized back when you were still learning how to walk without falling over! I could make clones of myself back when you were still struggling to make one that didn't look like a pile of sh$t!! And let us remember the number of times it took you to pass the final exam in order to get your ninja license! Three times you failed!!"

"At least I kept trying!" retorted Naruto, "I never gave up, even when nearly the whole village saw me as a worthless, troublemaking orphan with a dangerous demon locked inside him. But despite all the hardship, all the failures, there was one person who believed that I was worth something, that I had potential, that I could actually be a true Shinobi." In Naruto's mind he remembered his time at the ninja academy, all the times he screwed up in class, all the pranks he pulled around the village, just for some attention. But mostly, he remembered the one person in the while village who saw Naruto as more than a vessel for the 9-Tailed Fox Demon.

"Iruka-Sensei never gave up on me," said Naruto, "And I never gave up on bringing you home, Sasuke. You're not going to run away this time; today we finish this once and for all. You're going back to the Hidden Lead Village, one way or another."

"What makes you think I won't run away?" Sasuke asked, "What makes you so confident you can keep me here in this quarry?"

"I know so," said Naruto, "Because I had this quarry scouted out in advanced, knowing that you'd come here. The only way out is up the sides of the quarry. Look around you, you'll find that we're not alone."

Thinking that Naruto wasn't trying to pull such a simple trick, Sasuke took his eyes off of Naruto just long enough to scan the edge of the quarry above. At least 50 people were standing along the edge, watching the two young ninjas. Most of them were Shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village, while a few were from the allied Hidden Sand Village.

"Kakashi-Sensei never gave up on you either," said Naruto with a grin, "he and some Chûnin and Jônin are gonna make sure that you don't leave me hanging, like last time."

Up on the edge Might Guy glared contemptuously at his long-time rival, Kakashi Hitake as the notorious 'Copycat' ninja read 'Return to Make Out Paradise,' the latest romance novel from Jiraiya. "Do you have to read that right now?" Guy asked, "At this very moment? Your pupils are about to engage a cataclysmic battle to the finish! Aren't you at least going to watch?!"

"They'll be fine," said Kakashi in a calm, contented tone as he turned a page of his book, "Naruto has this well in hand."

"But…But they're your students!!" exclaimed Guy, "If Neji and Lee were to battle to the finish, I'd watch!!"

"Well that's your prerogative," said Kakashi, "Now, if you don't mind, I'm just about to get to the good part of my book."

"But…But…" stammered Guy.

"Pay him no mind, Guy-Sensei," said Rock Lee as he, Neji Huyga and Tenten stared down at the quarry, "He has his own Nindo to follow, as do we all."

"I don't like this," said Ino Yamanaka as she, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi stood further along the quarry edge, "We should be down there with Naruto, all of us. I mean, Sasuke's as much our friend as he is Naruto's."

"We all agreed to follow Naruto's plan," said Shikamaru is his usual bored tone, "And that means we stay up here unless he needs us."

"Don't worry yourself, Ino-Chan," said Chouji between bites of trail mix, "He'll have Sasuke tied up in no time."

Elsewhere along the quarry edge, Hinata Huyga watched with her teammates, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka and his faithful nin-dog Akamaru. _Naruto-Kun,_ thought Hinata, _Please win._

"So the whole gang is here," Sasuke said contemptuously, "Very well then," he drew his sword from his back, "If you're so anxious to die, I'll do my very best to send you to Hell!"

"There's the Sasuke I remember," said Naruto eagerly, "Let's do it! Shadow Clone Jutsu!!" With that ten copies of Naruto appeared in front of the real one. "Get him!!" shouted the real Naruto. The clones circled Sasuke and attacked all at once.

"Pathetic," said Sasuke. He easily dispatched the clones, each one disappearing with a puff of smoke as he stabbed them with his sword.

Yet as he stabbed the last clone, he didn't notice another batch of clones behind him. The first delivered a hard kick to his side, sending Sasuke flying towards three more, who then kicked simultaneously up, forcing Sasuke up into the air where a fifth clone delivered a strong heal kick, sending Sasuke crashing to the ground, "Uzumaki Combination!!"

The combined effect of being kicked five times and then slammed into the ground would have dealt a lot more damage, had this battle taken place a few years ago. Yet Sasuke anticipated Naruto's move and had maneuvered so he would land more softly. He then jumped, sheathing his sword and making his hand signs until he built up the desired amount of chakra, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!!" He then spat several flaming projectiles at the clones, destroying them.

Just as Sasuke landed on his feet, he saw something metal glinting out of the corner of his eye. Reacting swiftly, he threw four kuni knives at the four shuriken that two more of Naruto's clones had thrown, deflecting the incoming throwing stars. Sasuke then regretted his distraction as the real Naruto landed a hard right to his face, followed by a left roundhouse kick.

Regaining his balance, Sasuke blocked Naruto's next incoming punches and kicks, and then retaliated with two punches and three kicks of his own, forcing Naruto back several paces.

Naruto glared at Sasuke, then noticed that he had a cut lip. Such a small injury was soon mended from his instinctive healing abilities. "You're a lot tougher than I remember, Sasuke," said Naruto, "And you're not even using your Sharingan Eye."

"And you're a lot more disciplined than the last time we saw each other," said Sasuke, "I'm impressed that you're using your head for once instead of just rushing into things. But it doesn't matter how elaborate a strategy you use against me, I'm far superior than you'll ever be, Naruto."

"You're wrong, Sasuke," said Naruto, "I've been one step ahead of you the whole time here, believe it!"

It was then that Sasuke felt something gritty was slithering up his leg. He looked down to see that he was standing in the middle of a large patch of sand, some of which was nearly up to his left knee.

"NO!!" shouted Sasuke. He tried to jump away from the sand patch, yet the sand reacted faster than he could jump. The whole patch rose up and enveloped him, leaving only his head and left shoulder exposed to the air. The sand constricted to form a hard shell, leaving Sasuke unable to move as he fell to the ground.

"Earth Style:" Desert Coffin!!" exclaimed a familiar rough voice.

Shocked at his sudden immobilization, Sasuke was further surprised to see one of the remaining Shadow Clones wasn't a clone at all, but was in truth a Genjutsu, an illusion that disguised a certain redheaded ninja with black circles around his eyes. Tattooed above his left eyes was the Kanji symbol for 'love.' Strapped to his back was a large clay gourd.

"All too easy," said Garra of The Desert, "Perhaps you aren't as strong as you deem yourself to be, Sasuke Uchiha."

"You!!" exclaimed Sasuke, his voice brimming with hate, "You'll pay for this!!"

"I really didn't believe it would work," said Kankuro as he and Garra's older sister, Temari, watched from the quarry edge, " I honestly didn't think Naruto's plan would succeed. But here we are."

"Indeed," said Neji Huyga, "But remember, your brother, The Kazekage, he no longer has his demon to draw strength upon since the Akatsuki stole it. The rest of the plan all depends on how long Garra can keep Sasuke contained. And anyway, Sasuke has yet to use his Sharingan, let alone the curse mark."

"Don't worry about Garra," said Temari, "What really matters is how fast Sakura can carry out her part of the plan."

"Do you honestly think a little sand is going to hold me!?" snapped Sasuke, "As soon as I break free, I'll rip your heart out, you murdering psycho!!"

"Wouldn't that make you also a murderer?" Garra asked calmly, "What happens when the murderer is in turn murdered? It's a vicious cycle of death and hate that is far too easy to start, and far to difficult to stop."

"Save your breath, Garra," said Naruto, "At least until the job is done. Sakura-Chan, whenever you're ready."

"Sakura?" asked Sasuke. He then saw that the remaining clone was also a Genjutsu, concealing the final member of his former team. Sakura Haruno's hair had finally reached its former length, before she was forced to cut it during the second stage of the Chûnin exam.

"So you're here as well, Sakura," said Sasuke, his voice now full of contempt, "Good! Now you can here it from my own lips! I don't love you! I never loved you!! So stop moaning over me, for crying out loud, you stupid bitch!!"

"Sticks and stones, Sasuke," said Sakura as she pulled out a kuni knife, "It doesn't matter how you're feeling now, it's not really you. It's that damn curse mark that's making you feel this way. But everything's going to be alright, Sasuke-Kun," she then used the knife to cut away part of Sasuke's shirt, revealing the black curse mark that Orochimaru put on him so long ago, "I've figured out how to remove the curse mark, I'm going to save you, Sasuke-Kun."

"You can't possibly be serious!!" snapped Sasuke, "I need the curse mark!! I need it so I can kill Itachi!!"

"When I'm done," said Sakura as she made her hand signs, "You'll forget all about your brother. Or at least, you'll no longer be driven by hate and revenge." She placed her hands over the curse mark, "Healing Jutsu!!" Sakura's hands suddenly glowed bright blue as she sent waves of healing energy into Sasuke's body.

"No!!" shouted Sasuke, "I won't let you take my revenge away from me! I won't!!" With that he activated his Sharingan and pushed against the constricting sand. Slowly the enveloping sand began to give, first an inch, then another inch.

"He's resisting," said Garra in a slightly strained voice, sweat beginning to form on his pale face, "I don't know how much longer I can keep him contained!" Indeed it was a tremendous strain for Garra. When Naruto asked The Kazekage to join him on this mission, Garra gave his word of honor that he wouldn't harm Sasuke, for the whole point of the plan was to capture him. The effort of keeping Sasuke contained without hurting him was taking its toll on Garra.

"Sakura-Chan!" Naruto said hastily, "Hurry up!!"

"I can't go any faster," said Sakura, "If I rush this, I'll only partially remove the curse mark. It can regenerate and take him over again."

"I won't give you the chance!" snapped Sasuke, "you stupid little girl!!" With that the curse mark suddenly glowed dark red and spread across Sasuke's body, increasing his chakra output.

"He's breaking free!!" exclaimed Garra, "I can't hold him any more!! Get out of the way!!!"

Suddenly the sand holding Sasuke down exploded outward, temporally blinding Naruto and Sakura. When his vision cleared, Naruto saw Sasuke staging up, the black blemishes of the curse mark covering his face.

"I have had it with you, Naruto!" said Sasuke, "You've stood in my way for the last time! I'm gonna finish you once and for all! But first…" He turned his Sharingan empowered eyes on Sakura, and faster than Naruto could react, grabbed Sakura by the throat and squeezed.

"I'm going to destroy everything and everyone you care about, Naruto," said Sasuke as he continued to strangle Sakura, "Starting with this little annoyance." Sakura tried to pry Sasuke's hands from her neck, but the rouge Uchiha was too strong. She began to black out from lack of oxygen.

"Sakura!!" Exclaimed Ino. She prepared to head down into the quarry to save her friend, but Chouji held her back.

"Not yet," said Chouji, "Let Naruto handle this."

"But Sasuke…" said Ino, "he's killing Sakura!!"

"Let Naruto handle it," said Chouji, "Trust him, he'll save Sakura."

Back down in the quarry Naruto was doing everything he could to stop Sasuke from strangling Sakura, who was starting to turn blue from lack of air. "Let her go, you f#ck$ng bastard!!" shouted Naruto as he alternated from prying at Sasuke's hands and hitting him in the face, "Let Sakura go!!" Yet none of his efforts were succeeding

"You can't hurt me, Naruto," smirked Sasuke "But I certainly can hurt you, in more ways than one."

"You're wrong about me not being able to hurt you, Sasuke!!" snapped Naruto. Deep within Naruto's inner self he called upon the power of the 9-Tailed Fox demon. He was suddenly surrounded by the red glow of demon chakra; his fingernails grew and sharpened into claws, his canine teeth elongated into fangs, the whisker-like marks on his face became more pronounced, but the most startling change was his eyes, which had turned blood red.

"Take this!!" shouted Naruto as he reared his right fist back, "FALCON PUNCH!!" He then delivered a hard jab to Sasuke's family jewels.

Sasuke had no choice but to let go of Sakura. He grimaced and moaned in agony as his hands clutched at his assaulted groin. Sakura collapsed to the ground coughing for much needed air.

"You dirty bastard!!" gasped Sasuke as Naruto rushed over to Sakura, her face returning to normal, "You so got to die!!"

"Earth Style: Sand Shuriken!!!" exclaimed Garra. He threw a throwing star made of said at Sasuke's eyes, the shuriken breaking up just before it impacted, thereby giving Sasuke a double eyeful of sand.

"Nice shot," said Naruto to Garra as Sasuke tried to claw the grit from his eyes.

"It may be for naught," said Garra, "I don't have enough Chakra to contain him again, now that he's activated the curse seal."

"No problem," said Naruto. He then looked up at the edge of the quarry, "Shikamaru!! Plan B!!"

"That's our cue!!" said Shikamaru as he, Ino and Chouji jumped into the quarry.

"Sakura-Chan," said Naruto as he powered down from his demon mode, while Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji rushed over to them, "Are you alright? Can you continue?"

"I'll be fine, Naruto," said Sakura in a slightly hoarse voice, "Just make sure that Sasuke's holding still."

"You got it," grinned Naruto, "Shikamaru, Now!!"

"Rodger!!" exclaimed Shikamaru as he made his hand signs. In the years since the Chûnin exam, Shikamaru has refined his Shadow ninjutsu techniques to the point where the effects of the technique cannot harm him; he can hurt those trapped by his jutsus without hurting himself. "Ninja Art: Shadow Constriction!!" With that Shikamaru extended his shadow until it connected with Sasuke's. The combined shadows then reached up and wrapped themselves around his body, trapping Sasuke again. He fell back to the ground with a thud.

"Make this one count, Sakura," said Shikamaru, "If Sasuke goes to Stage 2 on that curse mark, I doubt anyone of us can keep him down."

"Relax, Shikamaru-San," said Sakura, while Shikamaru exposed Sasuke's left shoulder and the source of the curse seal, "This time I'll finish what I started."

"You fools!!" snapped Sasuke, "I'll kill you all!!"

"Sasuke," said Sakura as she made her hand signs for her Healing Jutsu again, "I'm going to say this with as much love and kindness as I possibly can; SHUT UP AND TAKE YOUR F#CK$NG MEDICINE!!!" She then slammed her hands onto Sasuke's shoulder, the blue healing energy blasting through his body.

"NO!!" screamed Sasuke as Sakura's Healing Jutsu began breaking apart the curse mark, "OROCHIMARU!! YOU PROMISED!! YOU PROMISED ME POWER!!!"

"You killed Orochimaru," said Naruto, "Remember?"

"OROCHIMARU!!" shouted Sasuke one more time as the black blotches faded from his face and body, retreating back to the central point of the curse seal, which soon dissolved from his body as black smoke. Within a minute the mark was gone, leaving only a faint imprint and two small dots where Orochimaru bit him.

With her chakra nearly exhausted, Sakura leaned back, sighing with fatigue. "It's alright, Shikamaru-San. You can let Sasuke go."

"Whatever," said Shikamaru in his usual bored tone, "It's your funeral if this didn't work." He then released his control over Sasuke's shadow, allowing him to move again. But Sasuke didn't move. He just lay there, stunned by the loss of the curse seal.

Just then the Sharingan faded from his eyes, returning to their normal black. As Sasuke tried to stand up, he looked to see Sakura sitting next to him. From the look in his eyes, it was as if he were seeing her for the first time in a long, long time.

"Sakura?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper. His energy spent, he collapsed. Sakura leaned forward to catch him, her arms cradling his head.

"Naruto!!" shouted Kakashi as he, Guy and everyone else rushed into the quarry, "Sakrua!! What happened!?!"

"Did it work!?!" exclaimed Rock Lee, "Is Sasuke… Is he?"

"He's alive," said Naruto, "But ask Sakura if it worked, it's her Healing Jutsu."

"It worked," said Sakura, "Sasuke is free of the curse mark." She then bent towards his ear, her face full of love and happiness, "Rest now, my love," she whispered, "The nightmare is finally over."


	2. Ch1 Bored! The New Missions Begin

The Fighting Dreamers

By AndrewK9000

**Chapter 1**

**Bored: The New Missions Begin**

…Six Years After The Chûnin Exam…

As Naruto left his apartment to meet Sasuke and Sakura for their next assignment, he looked up at the near cloudless sky, admiring the weather. Life has been pretty good for the young ninja over the past two years, ever since he and his friends helped save Sasuke from himself. Yet things lately had been a little too quiet for Naruto's taste.

He headed towards the central complex of The hidden Leaf Village, where Tsunade, The 5th Hokage, kept her office. As he entered the main building, Naruto thought about how things were finally working in his favor, at least more than things were back when he was just starting out as a Shinobi.

He kept his promise to Sakura and brought Sasuke home. Even better, Naruto helped convince the village elders not to punish Sasuke for his betrayal. At first the village elders were screaming for Sasuke's head; it took every ounce of persuasion that Tsunade had to disperse the inevitable lynching mob that was waiting for Sasuke's return. Later on during Sasuke's trial, he was found guilty, but Naruto delivered a speech that swayed the jury to release Sasuke into Naruto's custody. Basically Sasuke was a free man as long as Naruto kept an eye on him.

Since then Sasuke was reinstated as a Ninja of the Hidden Lead Village and rejoined Naruto and Sakura as a team. From then on things went back to the way before Sasuke abandoned the village: Mostly C and B-Class missions, with the occasional A-Class. Yet the majority of exciting assignments began to dry up about three months ago. Since then Naruto had to suffer through 4 C-Class missions and endless hours of training, by now he was getting more than a little impatient.

Just outside The Hokage's office, Naruto found Sakura and Sasuke already waiting for him. "You're late," said Sakura, "You're getting to be as bad about punctuality as Kakashi-Sensei."

"No one is as bad as Kaskashi-Sensei," said Sasuke, "Comparing him with Naruto just isn't fair." This caused a short but clear burst of giggles from Sakura. Naruto had to smile at this; after returning Sasuke to the village and his unofficial exoneration, Sasuke finally admitted out loud that he did indeed love Sakura, as much as she loves him. They'd been nearly inseparable since. They made such a perfect couple, that Kakashi just didn't have the heart to enforce the rule that prohibits romantic relations among teammates (he does have a fascination for romance after all).

"I made good time," Naruto said in a slightly hurt tone. He then resumed his usual enthusiastic attitude, "Anyway, let's not wait for Kakashi-Sensei and go see what Granny Tsunade has for us today! I've got a good feeling about this mission!"

"You know how much Lady Tsunade hates it when you call her that!" snapped Sakura. While Naruto was on his 2 and a half-year training mission with Jiraiya, (and during the filler arcs of the anime), Sakura had become Tsunade's apprentice in the Healing Arts. Some would say that she had taken on some of Tsunade's personality. In fact, a lot of people would agree that Naruto and his teammates were younger versions of the Three Legendary Sennin; yet Orochimaru's influence seemed to have worn off since the curse mark was removed from Sasuke.

"I know she doesn't like it," said Naruto, "I just like calling her that because it annoys her." He grinned widely.

"Some things never change," sighed Sasuke. With that they three young ninjas entered The 5th Hokage's office. They saw Tsunade leaning over her desk, with her assistant Shizune handing her papers to sign. Tsunade's pet pig Tonton was sunning himself near a window.

"Team-7 Reporting for duty, Lady Hokage!" Sakura said promptly. She, Naruto and Sasuke then bowed in respect to the top Shinobi of the village.

"I'll be with you in a minute, Sakura," said Tsunade. She then concentrated on the latest paper Shizune handed to her. "Uh-huh, yes, yes, this will do nicely. Shizune, tell the bookies that I picked #5 to win in the third race, #8 in the fourth, #11 in the fifth, and #2 in the sixth."

"She's gambling again," sighed Sasuke.

"What else do you expect from 'The Legendary Sucker?'" Naruto asked, using Tsunade's all-too accurate nickname.

"If you're quite finished talking about my personal affairs," Tsunade said sternly, "We can get down to business. Now, I know you three are anxious for a more exciting mission, or at least Naruto is."

"You bet!" said Naruto eagerly, "So what's the mission?! Come on, tell us already!"

"I'm getting to it!" snapped Tsunade, "So just sit and spin! As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, this mission will be a little different. Due to an unfortunate accident involving Might Guy, your team leader, Kakashi Hitake, will be unable to join you three on this mission, which is just as well because it only requires three."

"Exactly what was this unfortunate accident, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked.

"I believe the official report says 'Accidental Mercury Poisoning,'" said Shizune as she read from a document on Tsuande's desk, "Apparently Kakashi and Guy were seeing who can eat the most BBQ eel, and the last batch they ate was contaminated. The doctors were able to remove the poison, and both are expected to make full recoveries, although neither of them are going anywhere for at least two weeks."

"Typical," said Sasuke in an annoyed tone.

"Only Kakashi-Sensei and Guy-Sensei would make such fools of themselves," said Sakura.

"Who won the contest?" Naruto asked.

"Are you brain dead!?!" exclaimed Sakura, "Kakashi-Sensei is in the hospital, and all you care about is who won!?!"

"I just wanted to know," Naruto said meekly.

"Anyway," said Tsunade, "Both Kakashi and Guy are confined to the hospital until the doctors give them a clean bill of health. I, ahem, 'asked' the doctors to keep those two hooligans in bed a little longer than necessary. Perhaps some extra down time would cool their heads."

_Don't count on it,_ thought Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura at the same time.

"Moving on," said Tsunade, "It's just you three for this mission."

_This is it!!_ Naruto thought eagerly, _the end of the boredom!! I'll bet it's something dangerous!, something Top Secret! Maybe we're infiltrating an enemy stronghold, in search of secret documents!! Or a recon expedition into hostile territory!_

_What is it that Lady Tsunade wants us to do?_ Sakura asked herself, _Bodyguard duty? Or maybe search and rescue? No, that would need more than a 3-person squad._

_Is it possible?_ Sasuke asked himself, _can 'he' really be alive? Or is it the Akatsuki?_

"Your mission…" said Tsunade, she then paused for a minute, as if to emphasize for drama. Naruto and his teammates then glared at The Hokage as if to tell her to get on with it, "… is basically border patrol."

"What!?!" exclaimed Naruto, "Border patrol!?! What the f#ck kind of crap is that!?!!"

It was then that Tsunade's composure broke. "Don't yell at me, you ungrateful little sh$t-eating brat!!!"

"Don't yell at me, you old fart!!!!" snapped Naruto.

"I'M NOT YELLING!!!!!"

"I'M NOT YELLING EITHER!!!!!"

Both yellers then stopped their tirade for some much needed air. "Now," said Tsunade as she regained her composure, "If you'll just listen, Naruto, I'll explain why you and your teammates are needed for this mission."

This caused Naruto to calm down a bit. "Okay," he said, "Please explain."

"Thank you," said Tsunade, "Now, as you know, Orochimaru was killed some time ago, thanks to Sasuke here. But recently there have been rumors coming from operatives in deep cover in The Hidden Sound Village that Orochimaru is alive."

"Impossible!" exclaimed Sakura, "Sasuke killed Orochimaru, right Sasuke? Right?"

Sasuke was lost in thought, so he didn't hear Sakura at first. "I don't know. I destroyed Orochimaru's body before he could transfer his soul into mine, but I wouldn't put it past him to have planned a contingency or two."

"Well that's just great!" said Naruto, "The snake bastard who killed The 3rd Hokage is still alive and crawling!"

"We don't know if he's still alive or if it is just gossip," said Tsunade, "Either way, someone's stirring up trouble over in The Hidden Sound Village. Said someone is passing messages back and forth to Sound infiltrators here in our village. You three don't have to worry about that. Your mission is to intercept anyone heading into or out of the village who looks suspicious. Take them alive if you can, but I want to know what messages they're carrying. Shizune will provide the full details on your way out. You leave in one hour."

Naruto sighed before speaking, "We won't fail you, Granny Tsunade." He then bowed, smirking, and hurried out before Tsunade could react. Sasuke and Sakura both bowed, collected the mission specifics from Shizune and left.

"I swear, Shizune," grumbled Tsunade, "That boy really grinds my gears sometimes!" She reached down to scratch Tonton behind his ears.

"He's just eager," said Shizune, "He's anxious to prove himself worthy of the whole village, much like his father."

"Yes," said Tsunade, "Much like his father. I honestly don't know how much longer I can keep the truth from him. It's only a matter of time before Naruto learns why The 4th Hokage sealed the 9-Tailed Fox demon inside his body. When he does learn the truth, will Naruto be forgiving?"

"You are such a pain in the ass sometimes, Naruto!" said Sasuke as the three made their way out of the building, "No wonder people still call you 'The Number One Hyper Active Knuckleheaded Ninja.'"

"Hey, what can I say?" said Naruto, "When you got it, you got it!"

"Too bad about Kakashi-Sensei," said Sakura, "He'd love this mission, it'd give him time to enjoy one of his books."

"He's got more than enough time to read," said Sasuke, "When The Hokage orders someone confined in bed, they stay there." Both Sakura and Naruto nodded in agreement.

Just he, Sasuke and Sakura were about to head to their respective homes to pack for an extended mission outside the village, Naruto caught sight of a familiar face; one with pale lavender eyes and long dark purple hair that gleamed in the sunlight. "Hinata-Chan!" shouted Naruto, catching Hinata Huyga's attention.

"Naruto-Kun," said Hinata. She blushed, but smiled as she walked over to Naruto. Since his return to the village from his training journey, Hinata had finally gained the courage to be around Naruto and not faint. In fact, the two of them have been dating somewhat for the past two years.

Well, it's not exactly dating, more like meeting at the same place at the same time. It has mostly been having dinner at Naruto's favorite ramen restaurant, where they would talk about various subjects; life, the universe, everything. Other times they would meet at the village training grounds and compare techniques. The whole time the two of them have grown closer in their friendship, Naruto noticing Hinata for the young woman she is, and Hinata has become more open. Yet neither of them has admitted that they really like each other; really, really like each other that is.

"You two go on ahead," said Naruto, "I'll catch up."

"Play nice," said Sakura, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, truly confused.

"Nothing," said Sakura, "Enjoy." With that she and Sasuke left Naruto alone to talk to Hinata. "I can't believe Naruto still hasn't told Hinata how he really feels about her!" Sakura said once she and Sasuke were out of earshot, "How stupid can he be!?!"

"He doesn't know any better," said Sasuke, "And Hinata's still shy. Give them time, they've got their whole lives ahead of them, just like us."

"So, Naruto," said Hinata, "You and your team have a new mission?"

"Yeah," said Naruto in a slightly depressed tone, "A really boring one. We'll be stuck camping for weeks, waiting for a spy or something like that."

"It's better than what I've got," said Hinata, "Kiba, Shino and I have a diplomatic mission to promote a trading agreement; we're leaving for Andalasia today."

"Andalasia?" Naruto asked, "What's that?"

"It's a country about 400 miles to the south," said Hinata, "I have some friends there I haven't seen in a while."

"Sounds cool," said Naruto, "I'd sure like to visit a new country and meet new people. It's got to be better than waiting around for someone that probably won't show up."

"That's sounds better that what I'll be doing," said Hinata, "Kurenai-Sensei is stuck here in the village, making sure that Kakashi-Sensei and Guy-Sensei stay in the hospital, so it's just Shino, Kiba, Akamaru and myself, but I'd rather not go. I'm not much of a diplomat, it's more Neji's style."

"I'll bet he is," said Naruto They both laugh at this. "Well, I'd better go pack for my mission."

"Me too," said Hinata, "Um, so, want to have dinner when we're both back in the village?"

"Sure," said Naruto, "The usual place?"

"Of course," said Hinata, "Usual time? 6:15?"

"Of course," said Naruto, "well, um, I'd better get ready for the mission."

"Yeah," said Hinata, "I've got to pack as well. So, see you later!" With that she hurried off to her house.

"Yeah," said Naruto, "See you later, Hinata." He then headed back to his apartment. On the way, Naruto's mind seemed to be split in two.

_I should have told Hinata how I feel, that I really do like her._

**But she's so shy, so gentle, I don't want to scare her.**

_Hinata's a ninja, she can handle it._

**But what if she does get scared? What if she faints like she used to? What then?**

_I don't know. Damn! Why didn't Pervy Sage teach me how to talk to girls?_

Meanwhile, Hinata's mind was also divided.

_Forgive me, Naruto, I'm such a coward!_

**You've managed to talk to him, you haven't fainted in Naruto's presence in a long time. So now's the time to take the next step; tell him how you feel.**

_But what if he doesn't feel the same way I do? What if I upset him?_

**It's a chance you'll just have to take.**

_Okay, I'll tell him the next time we see each other, when we both get back from our respective missions._

**You'll tell Naruto now! You are going to march over to his place and tell him that you really, really like him!**

_No! I mean, it's too soon. I can wait, I can be very patient._

One hour later Naruto and his team were packed and were waking out the village gates for the border between the Leaf and Sound villages. "Here we go," said Naruto in a dull tone, "Another boring mission."

Before Sakura or Sasuke could retort, they noticed that Hinata and her teammates, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzaka and his Nin-dog Akamaru, were also exiting the village. Naruto still hasn't gotten over how big Akamaru grew during his training journey. Before, Akamaru was small enough to ride atop Kiba's head, now the Nin-dog was large enough for Kiba to ride.

"So, you're heading out as well?" Kiba asked while scratching Akamaru behind his ear.

"Yeah," said Sasuke, "Extended border patrol, nothing to get excited about, but a mission's a mission."

As Hinata stood gazing longingly at Naruto, she failed to notice that Shino was standing right behind her until he spoke; "You're only making things worse by keeping your feeling to yourself."

"What are you talking about?" Hinata asked.

"Don't deny it," said Shino, "Everybody in the village knows that you've had a crush on Naruto for years. And before you deny it further, know this; he feels the same way about you. So go over there and tell him how you feel, it will only be harder the longer you wait."

At the same time, Sakura was giving Naruto a hushed, verbal thrashing; "She has had a crush on you for the longest time, Naruto! You've just been too dense to realize it! Now you go over there and tell Hinata that you like her, or else, I'm gonna break your f#ck$ng head open!! And believe me, I can do it."

"Oh, I believe it," said Naruto. Sakura's training with Tsunade intensified Sakura's already impressive Chakra control, giving the pink-haired Kunochi nearly limitless physical strength.

"Okay," said Naruto, "I'll tell Hinata." With that he walked over to Hinata, who was also walking towards him.

"Um, Hinata, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"I've got something to say as well," said Hinata, "But you go first." _Oh crap!!_ Exclaimed Hinata's inner thoughts, _he's gonna tell me he hates me!!_

"It's alright," said Naruto, "You go first." _I don't know what to say!!_ Naruto panicked in his mind, _what if I mess this up!?_

"No, you go first, Naruto."

"I insist you go first, Hinata."

"Oh for f#cks sake!!" snapped Kiba, "Naruto! Start talking!!"

"You don't have to be so rude," muttered Naruto. "Okay, um… Hinata, I just want to say… that is, what I mean to say is…"

"Spill it already!!" snapped Sakura.

"I just want to say I think you're swell, Hinata."

"Really?" Hinata asked, "Well, Naruto, I just want to say that that, well, I also thing you're swell to."

"That's all they've got to say?" Sakura asked in an annoyed tone, "They think the other is swell?"

"Well, I guess that's that then," said Naruto.

"Yeah," said Hinata, "Well, see you when you get back."

"Yeah, you too," said Naruto.

It was then, just before the two teams headed off in different directions, that something snapped deep within Hinata's mind. "Naruto!" she said, grabbing his attention. Hinata then walked over to Naruto so that they were standing less than a foot apart, each able to see the full details of each other's eyes. Without warning, Hinata placed her arms around Naruto's neck, bent up and kissed him right on the lips.

Naruto was understandably surprised at first, but then the part of him that has grown to cherish Hinata took over. He kissed back, his arms wrapped around her.

"Well, what do you know?" Kiba said as he and Akamaru looked dumbfounded at the passionate kiss, "Our Hinata has a romantic backbone after all."

"Indeed," Shino agreed.

"YES!!" exclaimed Sakura, "It's about time those two realized their affections!"

"You planned this all along?" Sasuke asked.

"I wouldn't say it was all my idea," said Sakura, "But between you and me, Sasuke, I did tweak the circumstances a bit."

The kiss lasted another two minutes. Naruto and Hinata finally broke contact for some much needed air. They looked at each other as if through new eyes.

"I really do like you, Naruto-Kun," said Hinata.

"Me too, Hinata," said Naruto, "You think that when we're done with our missions, we can spend some time alone? Nothing serious, just to talk."

"That sound's swell," said Hinata. They kissed once again, then broke apart, Naruto heading back over to Sakura and Sasuke, Hinata back to Shino, Kiba and Akamaru.

"What are you three standing about for?" Hinata asked eagerly, a huge smile on her face, "Come now! 'Fortune favors the bold!!'"

"Is it me," said Kiba, "Or is Hinata walking with a new spring in her step?"

"It would seem so," said Shino as he followed Hinata towards the road south, with Kiba and Akamaru shortly after him.

"What are you looking at?" Naruto asked Sasuke and Sakura as he headed for the road towards the border, "We've got a mission, no matter how boring it is, it's still a mission, so let's go!"

"I think Naruto just grew up a bit," said Sakura, "Yep, he's a new man now."

"Oh crap!!" exclaimed Naruto, "I just realized I forgot something! I'll be right back!" With that he ran back into the village.

"What could he have forgotten?" Sakura asked.

"I think I know," Sasuke.

Five minutes later Naruto came running back. He skidded to a halt beside his teammates, panting for much needed oxygen. "I…almost…forgot! Very…important…items."

"What?" Sakura asked, curious as to what made Naruto so anxious.

"Instant…ramen," said Naruto as he held up several packets of dried noodles, "Never leave the village without them."

"I knew it," said Sasuke, sounding slightly disappointed.

"I was wrong," Sakura muttered as she, Sasuke and Naruto headed for the border, "Some things never change."

Meanwhile…

Hundreds of miles to the south and west of The Hidden Leaf Village a group of wicked men plotted something foul. They were all cloaked and hooded so their faces couldn't be identified by anyone watching. "Everything is ready as The Master decreed," said the first hooded figure, "One way or another, Andalasia shall fall."

"And what of the girl The Master covets," said another, "How soon can she be obtained?"

"The girl shall be brought before The Master before a fortnight," said a third figure, "The Master shall claim her soul; he already claims her in body and mind."

"And what of the Shinobi nations?" asked a fourth cloaked figure, "What if one of the Hidden Villages decide to become involved?"

"They won't," said the first hooded figure, "The Master has taken measures to insure that the Shinobi Villages are occupied. They won't realize what has happened until it is too late. Trust me, gentlemen, Andalasia shall soon fall, then the five Shinobi nations, then all of the world shall bow down to The Dark Lord Manos."

The end of chapter 1.

Naruto: Alright!! The new story has begun! And Hinata-Chan and I are finally a couple! Can't wait to see what we do next!

Sasuke: Well you're gonna have to wait a while, our parts in the next chapter are gonna be rather small.

Naruto: What?

Kiba: That's right, Naruto. The next chapter is all about my team, right, Akamaru?

Akamaru: Bark!! (Right!!)

Hinata: Next chapter we journey to the kingdom of Andalasia. Who knows what surprised await Shino-San, Kiba-San, Akamaru and myself.

Naruto: Wait a minute! I thought this was to be a romance between Hinata-Chan and me!

Andrewk9000: They'll be plenty of time for romance later, Naruto.

Naruto: But I'm the star of the show!

Andrewk9000: Well this is a fanfic, so just deal with it. You'll get your time in the spotlight.

Naruto: Whatever! Anyway, stay tuned for the next exciting chapter as… Wait! Who are you!?

Andrewk900: I'm the writer of this story, so you have to do what I tell you to do, believe it!

Naruto: That's my line!!

Sakura: Next chapter, 'Old Friends, New Faces and Observers.' Don't miss it, you won't be disappointed!

Kiba: Be sure to leave plenty of reviews.

Shino: Indeed

Naruto: But I'm the star of the show!!!


	3. Ch2: Old Friends, New Faces & Observers

Chapter 2

Old Friends, New Faces and Observers

"Well," said Sakura, "Here we are. Behind us is the Land of Fire and The Hidden Leaf Village. In front of us is the border separating us from the Land of Sound, and with it, The Hidden Sound village. Now all we have to do is make sure nobody suspicious come across our search area."

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had reached their designated patrol area specified by their orders. The border was in fact a long line of specially planted trees that stretched for miles in both directions in a large forest; the trees had blue markings on the side facing the Land of Fire, with green markings on the other side.

"Not much of a border," said Sasuke, "A picket fence could do a better job of keeping spies and infiltrators out." It then got rather quiet there among the trees. "Nothing to say, Naruto?"

"Oh I've got plenty to say." Naruto was currently helping Sasuke set up their camp, pitching their tents and such, "I just don't feel much like talking." His tone of voice said he had a lot on his mind.

"Something's bugging you," said Sakura, who had a cheeky smile on her face, "And I know what it is. You're thinking about Hinata!"

"So what if I am!?" said Naruto, "If I want to like a girl, it's my prerogative."

"Well it took you long enough to like Hinata," said Sasuke, "Everyone in the village has known that she likes you."

"Well, we've been dating for a while," said Naruto, "We've kind of grown on each other."

"Are you kidding?!" snapped Sakura, "Hinata has had a crush on you since we all started in Iruka-Sensei's class, like eight years ago!!"

"That long?" asked a genuinely surprised Naruto, "I guess I should do something nice for Hinata, to show how much I care."

"Well, you've got plenty of time to think," said Sasuke, who was already bored, "We've got ten days before our patrol is finished. Ten days of waiting around for a spy that may not even exist."

Meanwhile…

Twenty miles south of The Hidden Leaf Village, Hinata and her team had boarded the train to Andalasia, (They made the trip to the train station in just under 90 minutes). From there it was another day and a half ride south through sparsely populated townships and outposts. Shino spent the trip in quiet meditation; while Kiba was occupied making sure that Akamaru didn't upset the other passengers, (apparently Akamaru isn't all that comfortable with trains).

As for Hinata, she spent the journey looking out the window, gazing idly at the clouds and thinking about Naruto. _He likes me,_ she thought, _he really, really likes me. I guess I was scared over nothing. But now that we're on a more personal level, how can I show Naruto how much I care? Maybe I can get him a new Ramen cooker. No, I'll save that for his birthday._

All in all, the trip south went by rather quickly for Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru. Before they knew it, they were out of The Land of Fire and within Andalasia. The new countryside, mostly unspoiled woods back north, was replaced with seemingly endless farmlands, with crops ranging from rice to wheat; corn to barley; tomatoes to grapes, and so on.

"Andalasia has a strong reputation for producing various staple crops," said Hinata as she admired the passing landscape, "All this farmland has made Andalasia very rich by exporting all the excess harvest."

"The people of Andalasia must care deeply about their land," said Shino as they passed a field of rutabaga, "If only the rest of the world was so compassionate about The Earth."

"I'm not that big on farming," said Kiba, "Farmers worry about so many things, it's a miracle they don't all have ulcers. So who are we meeting in the capital?"

"Her name is Clare Rachuba," said Hinata, "The Grand Duchess of Andalasia. Her family is one of the leading Noble families of the country. Her family and mine have had deep relations for a long time. I haven't seen Clare in about four years, not since just after Naruto came back from his journey. Naruto…" She gazed at the clouds again.

"There she goes," said Kiba, "This could become a habit." Just then there was a crash from the next compartment over. "Oh great! Akamaru's lose in the luggage again!!" He hurried off to make sure his dog didn't get into any more trouble.

"Hinata!" Shino said sharply, snapping Hinata out of her daydream of Naruto running his fingers through her hair, "As much as I am pleased that you and Naruto have finally acknowledged each other's feelings, you need to focus. This isn't just a pleasant visit with an old acquaintance; remember the true purpose of our mission."

"I remember," said Hinata. When she told Naruto that she and her team was visiting a friend in Andalasia, that part was true. The trade agreement was just a cover story for the real mission. What Naruto didn't know was that Tsunade had given Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru several Top Secret documents that were to be hand delivered to Joshua and Rachael, the King and Queen of Andalasia. When her team reached the capital city of Andraios and met with Clare Rachuba, Hinata and co. would then be escorted to the royal palace and deliver the documents. From there it would be like a real friendly visit with a friend.

Just then Kiba came back into their compartment, "Well Akamaru's no longer in the luggage car, I had to leash the poor guy. I got to tell you, the next time we visit another country, we are walking."

Eventually they made it to Andraios, a sprawling metropolis not all that different from The Hidden Leaf Village, except most of the buildings were over 5 stories tall and had gas lights in the streets instead of electric.

As the train pulled into the central station, Hinata noticed a group of half a dozen people waiting for them. One of them held a large card that said 'Huyga Party.' "That's for us," she said as the train stopped, "Clare is waiting for us."

"Which one is The Grand Duchess?" Kiba asked as they gathered their luggage, with Hinata taking special care with a small briefcase that she had one hand on during the whole trip south.

"The one in the middle is Clare," said Hinata, "Thank heaven she's out of those braces, they made her head look like a mangled antenna."

The person Hinata pointed out didn't look anything like anyone who had the title Grand Duchess. Clare Rachuba was a young woman in her early 20's. She was roughly Hinata's height, had long, brown hair down to her knees, one green eye and one blue. She wore a peach colored blouse with a cherry-red skirt.

"Grand Duchess Rachuba," said Hinata as she bowed in respect. Shino, Kiba and Akamaru also bowed respectfully.

"Lady Huyga," said Clare. She also bowed. There was a few seconds of silence before the two girls cracked up, giggled like schoolgirls and embraced. "Hinata-Chan!!"

"Clare-Chan!!" exclaimed Hinata, "You look fabulous!!"

"You look fantastic yourself!" said Clare, "It's been so long, I almost thought you forgot about me."

"Now why would I forget about you?" Hinata asked, "I've just been so busy being a Shinobi, I hardly had the time to write. Oh, I've so much to tell you. But business first, these are my team mates, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka and his Nin-dog Akamaru."

"It is an honor to meet you, Lady Clare," said Shino as he, Kiba and Akamaru bowed.

"The honor is mine," said Clare, "To finally meet Hinata's friends. "Wait a minute, this can't be Akamaru; the little dog that rode atop Kiba's head? He's so big!" She held out her hand for Akamaru to smell. He inhaled her send and found her to be friendly. Akamaru then allowed Clare to stroke his white fir, "Look at you! You're great!"

Akamaru then spoke in his own fashion that only Kiba could fully understand. 'You smell nice, like strawberries. I like strawberries.'

"Why thank you, kind and noble dog," said Clare, "I also like strawberries."

"You can understand him!?" asked a surprised Kiba.

"Of course," said Clare, "All the girls in my family can speak to animals."

"A lot people of Andalasia are born with special gifts, Kiba," said Hinata, "Like a Kekkei Genkai. Some of them can understand animals; others can see past and future events through dreams. Some even can channel chakra, not into Ninjutsu and Genjutsu techniques, but rather as arcane energy."

"You mean magic," said Shino.

"Exactly," said Hinata.

"Magic?" asked Kiba, "You mean that stuff you'd see on a stage? Where some guy in a tuxedo would pull a rabbit out of a hat?"

"No," said a quiet, almost depressed voice. In back and to the left of Clare stood a girl about 19 years old standing off to the far left. She was about 5'4', had shoulder length dark-blond hair, hazel eyes and wore a blue and green business suit. Her face was expressed like she was in the depth of melancholy. "What you call magic is merely slight-of-hand illusion. Real magic involves channeling one's inner energies to manipulate the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit."

"Hinata," said Clare, "You remember my personal assistant, Elaine Yates."

"It is an honor to see you again, Miss Hinata," said Elaine. She bowed respectfully.

"It is an honor to see you again as well," said Hinata, "How goes your studies in the arcane arts?"

"They go well, thank you," said Elaine, her tone of voice brightening somewhat, "My instructors say I may have more potential than any other Mage in the history of Andalasia."

"What is a Mage?" Shino asked.

"A magic user," said Elaine, her expression showing a true improvement towards happiness, "We can manipulate our inner energies, or Mana, the same way you Shinobi manipulate Chakra, to create illusions or solid spells."

"Interesting," said Shino, "Please, tell me more."

"It's so good to see Elaine smiling again," said Clare as Shino gave his full attention to every world Elaine said, "She's been so depressed lately."

"What happened?" Hinata asked.

Clare looked around her surroundings as if to see who, or what, was watching, "I'd rather not speak of it in public, scandals tend to start that way, you understand."

"Of course," said Hinata.

"Anyway," continued Clare, "You have the papers The King and Queen asked for?"

"They've been at my side since we left home," said Hinata as she held up the briefcase.

"Splendid!" said Clare, "Let's be on our way to the palace. Oh, I've so much to tell you, Hinata, but it must wait until business is concluded. Besides, I'd rather not spoil the surprise."

"What surprise?" asked Hinata.

"You'll see," said Clare.

Hinata and her team rode in an ornately decorated carriage through the city to the palace, or at least, Hinata and Shino rode with Clare and Elaine. Akamaru was too big to fit, so Kiba walked with Akamaru. They preferred it that way, so they could see the city better.

The royal palace was a huge stone construct right out of a storybook; filled with towers and parapets. As Hinata's team entered the courtyard, she noticed that Kiba and Akamaru were admiring the diverse plant life decorating the courtyard. "Nice," said Kiba, "Very nice."

"Here we are," said Clare, "Shino-San, I'm afraid you'll have to remove your sunglasses when we go inside."

"What for?" Kiba asked.

"Some stupid rule about maintaining eye contact with The King when in his presence," said Clare, "It's stupid, I know, but rules are rules."

"Besides," said Elaine, "It is most impolite to wear sunglasses indoors, at least here in Andalasia."

Hinata could tell there was a conflict brewing in Shino's mind. On one hand Shino never took off his sunglasses, they were part of his identity, his personality. On the other hand, Hinata knew that Shino always did his best to make a good first impression, and that manners were highly important to him. Finally, after a few tense seconds, Shino took off his sunglasses, "I've always been taught to respect the culture and manners of other lands."

Just before our heroes entered the palace, one of the waiting attendants stopped Kiba, "I'm afraid, Sir, that your dog must wait outside."

"He's harmless," said Kiba, "Akamaru wouldn't break anything, and he's quite well trained, right Akamaru?" Akamaru then barked once, which Kiba (and Clare) understood to be 'You got it!'

"It's alright," said Clare, "I can vouch for Akamaru." The attendant reluctantly allowed Kiba and Akamaru to pass.

Inside the young Shinobi noticed that the palace staff was all over the place, cleaning and arraigning flower vases and such. "Looks like there's gonna be a big shindig soon," said Kiba.

"Indeed," said Shino.

As Hinata and her team were escorted through the palace, they passed a huge room filled with thousands of books arranged in shelves over twenty feet high. Clare looked in to see a girl about 17 years old with long, raven black hair in a ponytail, brown eyes and wearing a green blouse and skirt. She was standing on a ladder, picking out a book from a high shelf.

"Natalie!" said Clare, "I didn't know you were here today."

"I didn't know you were visiting, Clare." Natalie got down from the ladder and walked out of the library. She saw Hinata and her group, "These must be the visitors from the north that Father is meeting today."

"Permit me to introduce," said Elaine, "Her Royal Highness, Princess Natalie Ann Orison, daughter of King Joshua and Queen Rachael."

"It is an honor to meet you, my Lady," said Hinata as she, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru bowed.

"Now that is what I call a dog!" said an amazed Natalie as she gazed adoringly at Akamaru, "He's so big and strong, and so adorable!" she held out her hand for Akamaru to smell. He inhaled her send, waged his tail happily, then did something that surprised both Hinata and Shino; Akamaru rolled onto his back.

"He must really like you," said Kiba, "He want you to scratch his belly."

Natalie did so, producing a happy leg thumping from Akamaru.

"Who's a happy nin-dog!" exclaimed Natalie, "You're a happy nin-dog! Yes you are! Yes you are!"

Kiba bent down to get in his share of belly scratching, "Like I said, Akamaru must really like you."

"And I like him as well," said Natalie, "And I also like you, Kiba Inuzuka."

"Huh?" asked a confused Kiba.

"Yes," said Natalie as she looked Kiba over as if in appraisal, "You'll do nicely."

"Looks like Natalie as chosen her new boyfriend," said Clare,

"I must admit," said Natalie as she and Kiba stood up, "I've never encountered a Shinobi before. The stories I've heard have painted a rather negative picture."

"Well you've probably heard about the wrong kind of ninja," said Kiba, "Not all of us are cold-blooded murderers, unlike someone I know."

Meanwhile over in the Hidden Sand Village, Garra was going over the latest mission reports with Temari, when he suddenly sneezed twice.

"You okay, Garra?" Temari asked.

"I have the distinct feeling, Sister," said Garra, "That someone is talking behind my back. And I think I know who."

Back in Andraios, Hinata and her team were on their way again to speak with King Joshua. Natalie was walking with them, listening avidly to what Kiba had to say about real Shinobi. "The life of a ninja isn't all about war and killing; we do whatever job we're given, within reason that is. Sometimes we're handed bodyguard duty; other times it's espionage. And sometimes, we get really stupid jobs, such as finding lost pets. But in the end it's all worth it."

"Sorry to interrupt," said Clare, "Is Henry here, Natalie?" At the mention of the name Henry, Hinata noticed that Elaine tensed, as if something bad was about to go down.

"My brother is out of the palace at this time," said Natalie, this seemed to cause Elaine to relax, but then seemed to look even more depressed. "He and Mother are attending to a few details for tonight's festivities."

"What festivities?" Hinata asked.

"It's a surprise," said Clare, "Business first, where is your father, The King?"

"Last I knew," said Natalie, "Father is in the training room, sparing with my younger brother, Jason. Follow me, I'll take you to them."

Unknown to Hinata and her companions, they were being watched by two creatures that were neither demon nor any kind of monster they had ever seen, which is kind of funny since the creatures cannot be seen by human eyes. Even with her Byakugan, Hinata would have seen nothing more than a pair of blurry shapes that would have been gone in an instant.

Had these two creatures been seen, their appearance would have frightened even the most experienced ninja, for the creatures are Shinigami, The Gods of Death, whom have the power of taking the lives of any human they choose by simply writing that person's name in a special notebook called a Death Note. Yet the two Shinigami weren't here to kill anyone; rather, they were just observing.

The first of the two Shinigami was tall, well over seven feet in height; it had red scaly skin that was covered in black needles, it's limbs elongated to match its height, each arm ending in three razor sharp claws. The second was short, less than five feet tall. Its entire body was wrapped in bandages like a mummy, with only it's three red eyes visible. Let us call the first Shinigami 'Talon,' the second, 'Malicious'.

"I don't get you, Malicious," said Talon in a harsh, raspy voice like sandpaper, "Out of all the dimensions humans inhabit, why this one? Why this particular location?"

"Two reasons," said Malicious in a calm, soft voice like velvet, "First of all, I'm bored."

"We're all bored," said Talon, "Our entire race is bored. Our world is slowly but surely rotting away, our people drifting into apathy. You know full well what happens to Shinigami who fail to keep writing human names in their Death Notes. We just don't care as much as we should. Eventually our race will die from boredom."

"True," said Malicious, "The rules of the Death Note clearly state that when we Shinigami take the life of a human, we gain the remaining years of that humans' natural lifespan and add it to our own. Yet humans have become so adapt at killing each other, we Shinigami will soon become obsolete. Not today or tomorrow, but someday our race will become extinct.

"But I have no intention of allowing myself to simply expire. I will not succumb to apathy and sloth. Which is why we are here today. You remember Ryuk? He dropped his spare Death Note and caused quite a ruckus in one particular human world."

"Ah yes" Talon said, "The 'Kira' incident. Is that what you plan on doing? You're going to drop your Death Note and watch whoever picks it up?"

"Nothing like that," said Malicious, "I've already gotten into trouble for dropping my Death Note once, and that was an accident. I have no intention of repeating such a mistake on purpose. No, Talon, we're just going to observe the coming drama, maybe add a name or two to our Death Notes, just to tweak the circumstances. A powder keg is about to explode in this world, and the two of us have front row seats for the fireworks."

"Well that's one reason," said Talon, "What's the second?"

"It's a bit more personal," said Malicious, "But since we're already here, you might as well know. Andalasia is well known for growing the most delicious apples, and you of all should know how much we Shinigami appreciate apples."

"I should have known that you'd drag me all the way to the human plane, all for a bunch of apples," said Talon in a disappointed tone.

Hinata and the others were blissfully unaware of their otherworldly observers as they entered the training room. It looked to be a fully equipped gymnasium, only much bigger. In the middle were two people practicing with wooden swords; One was tall, somewhere in his mid-40's and black hair that was showing gray at the temples, the boy about 12 years old and had dark brown hair and blue eyes. The first was obviously King Joshua, the second his son, Jason.

"Good, Son," said Joshua as he blocked his son's sword thrusts, "You're really coming along. But remember, a sword is only a tool; it's the warrior who wields the weapon that truly matters." With one flick of the wrist, Joshua had Jason disarmed.

"You win again, Father," said Jason, "You're just too strong."

"Life isn't all about winning, Son," said Joshua, "I've taught your brother Henry that with strength comes great responsibility, and most importantly, honor. Remember, Son; Strength With Honor."

"Strength With Honor," said Jason.

Introductions were then made. "It is an honor, Your Majesty," said Hinata as she and her team bowed. "I have the documents you requested from Lady Tsunade."

"All in good time," said King Joshua, "You three have come a long way, it would be rude of me not to offer some refreshments." He signaled to a nearby servant. A minute or so later a large tray filled with all kinds of fruits was brought in; apples, oranges, bananas, pears, strawberries, green and red grapes, little cubes of pineapple, mango, honeydew and watermelon on toothpicks, just to name a few.

"Wow!" exclaimed Kiba as he took a bite out of an apple, "These are great!"

"I told you that Andalasia raises great crops," said Hinata after swallowing a slice of an orange.

"Excellent," said Joshua, "And now to business."

"Oh, yes of course," said Hinata. She then held the briefcase face up. It was locked with a rotary combination, the type used on high school lockers, with numbers ranging from 0 to 59. Hinata programmed in the following numbers:

…4…8…15…16…23…42…

And it opened. Hinata then took out the solitary scroll that was sealed with Tsunade's personal crest. She disabled the protective Jutsu that would have made the scroll explode if anyone tried to break the seal, and handed the scroll to Joshua. He broke the seal with a penknife and opened it.

"Yes," said Joshua as he read the scroll, "Yes, everything seems to be in order. I shall have a proper response drafted in the morning. But you three must stay the night, if only for tonight's Grand Ball."

"Grand Ball?" asked Hinata, "This is the first I've heard of it."

"This week is the 500th Anniversary of the founding of Andalasia," said Clare, "And tonight we're having a Grand Ball to celebrate the event. You and your friends absolutely must attend the party!"

"I can't!" said Hinata suddenly, a look of anxiety on her face, "I mean, I want to, but…I… um… I've nothing to wear! I wasn't expecting to attend a Ball! I didn't pack anything formal, and my makeup! I left it all at home!!"

"Leave everything to me, Hinata-Chan," said Clare, "Trust me, I'll have you ready for tonight."

"I'll help," said Natalie, "We're all nearly the same dress size." With that she and Clare escorted Hinata out of the room.

"I wonder if we can find a good tuxedo rental place in time?" Kiba said.

"Why rent, when you can have one made for you," said Joshua. He snapped his fingers and one of the palace attendants appeared, "Have the Royal Tailors prepare two suits for our guests."

"You know what the worst thing about this," said Kiba as he and Shino were shown out of the training room, "I probably have to give Akamaru a bath."

"Also not a problem," said Joshua, he snapped his fingers again, "Inform the Royal Pet groomers that they have a customer."

"It's alright, boy," said Kiba to Akamaru, "Go with them and get cleaned up, you'll want to look and smell your best for the party."

'Do I have to?' Akamaru wined.

"Hey, if it were up to me," said Kiba, "I'd let you go as you are. But rules are rules. No go on, I'll catch up as soon as I've been fitted for my penguin suit."

While Kiba was assuring Akamaru, Shino reached for another piece of pineapple on the fruit platter, when he noticed that there were six apples on the tray, when just a few minutes ago there were eight. Or were there only six before? Shino couldn't remember clearly. Maybe someone had two when he wasn't looking. He dismissed it as just one of those things, and left with Kiba for his tuxedo fitting.

"You were right about one thing, Malicious," said Talon as he finished his apple, core, seeds and all, "These are delicious apples."

"And I'll be right about the other matter," said Malicious, "Things will get interesting, well worth our time and observations."

"How do you know that?" Talon asked.

"I have my sources," said Malicious, "I won't say, so not to spoil things."

Meanwhile…

"We've been here for almost two days!" moaned Naruto, "How much longer!?"

"Naruto!!" exclaimed Sakura, "if you ask that again, I promise you I'll bash your brains in with a rock!!" She and Sasuke were getting a little tired of Naruto's near constant complaining. The fact that Naruto was right didn't help. Since they'd started their patrol there had been no sign of the expected spy.

"As much as I hate to admit it," said Sasuke, "Naruto does have a point, however small it may be. Our patrol is going to last another eight days. If they're going to be like today and yesterday, we might as well pack it in and head home."

"Now you're speaking my language!" said Naruto eagerly, "I'll start packing the gear!!"

"We're not leaving!" snapped Sakura, "Lady Tsunade gave us a mission, so we're going to finish it, no matter how boring it is."

Naruto was about to complain again, but he was interrupted by Sasuke. He held up his hand to Naruto's mouth to keep him quiet. Sasuke then spoke in sign language, saying with his hands that they weren't alone. (He, Naruto and Sakura learned how to sign a few months ago).

Realizing that this could be what they've been waiting for, the three Shinobi separated, taking up concealed positions around their patrol area. They didn't have to wait for long; someone wearing a green and brown camouflage suit and facemask was heading their way, jumping from tree to tree in the Shinobi matter. He was carrying a small brown shoulder satchel.

Sasuke silently signaled his teammates to intercept the approaching intruder. Sakura got to him first; appearing on the branch the spy was about to land on. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

The intruder, startled at the sudden appearance of the pink-haired ninja, grabbed a nearby branch and changed directions, now heading away from Sakura. Again he didn't get very far, for two of Naruto Shadow Clones appeared in front of him.

Again the intruder changed directions and attempted to get away. Only this time Sasuke intercepted him by throwing two kuni knives. The intruder countered by throwing two knives of his own and changed directions again, only to encounter Sakura again, who delivered a Chakra powered punch that knocked the intruder to the forest floor.

"Grab him!" shouted Sasuke, "He's reaching for something!!" The intruder had taken something small out of his belt pouch, pulled down his facemask and swallowed it. Two seconds later he collapsed to the ground.

Sakura felt for a pulse but couldn't fine one. "He's dead." She reached for the intruder's hand and smelled a faint trace of almonds, "Cyanide poison."

"Sound Ninja cowards!" said Naruto, "The send people out on dangerous missions, only to have them commit suicide at the first sign of trouble."

"Sound Shinobi don't use suicide agents," said Sasuke, "I should know, I lived among them for two and a half years. But this isn't the case." He then found the dead intruder's forehead protector. The village symbol wasn't the familiar music note used by Sound ninjas.

"That's the symbol for the Hidden Grass Village," said Sakura.

"Grass Village!?" asked a surprised Naruto, "I thought they were neutral."

"He doesn't look like a Grass Ninja," said Sasuke, "They're usually have heavily tanned skin, from being in the sun so much. But this guy looks like he hasn't been seen sunlight for months. Who is this guy and where did he come from?"

Sakura then reached into the satchel and pulled out a single scroll. Sensing no protective Jutsu, she opened it. "It's encrypted, but I think I can translate." She starred at the scroll, studying the coded language, "I think I've got it. It reads: 'Eliminate The Sucker.' This is an assassination order."

"And Granny Tsunade is the target," said Naruto.

The end of chapter 2

Naruto: Okay, so there's a hit out on Granny Tsunade. No problem, we'll just head back to the village and stop them.

Sakura: I'm afraid that's all we'll be doing in the next chapter.

Sasuke: Yep, the next part is another one focusing on Hinata and her team.

Naruto: Are you kidding!?

Shino: Life's tough, Naruto. You can't always get what you want. Anyway, what's this about Kiba dancing with Princess Natalie?

Kiba: Really? I get to dance with Natalie? Awesome!!

Ino: Looks like somebody's got a crush.

Shikamaru: Big deal. When's our time to be in the story?

Chouji: Yeah, it's already been two chapters, and all we've been in is the prologue, and for like one lousy paragraph! When's our turn?

Andrewk9000: Relax, Chouji, you and your team shall have your glory. Just be patient.

Ino: Who's that?

Sakura: He's the writer.

Naruto: Next chapter, 'When Good Times Go Bad.' Be sure to leave lots of good reviews!

Hinata: Oh, I hope things don't go bad too fast.


	4. Chapter 3: When Good Times Go Bad

Chapter 3

When Good Times Go Bad

"Well, what do you think?" Clare and Natalie watched as Hinata emerged from Natalie's enormous walk-in closet, wearing a strapless blue and green evening gown. The pale-eyed Shinobi turned around once so the two girls could see.

"That dress is so you," said Natalie, "It matches your eyes."

"You think so?" Hinata asked as she saw her reflection in the nearby gold framed full-length mirror.

"Absolutely," said Clare, "In fact, the last three dresses you tried on fit you so well, I think you should keep them. Don't you agree, Natalie?"

"Oh, really, that isn't necessary," said Hinata, slightly embarrassed at such positive criticism as she changed back into her normal clothes, "I couldn't possibly accept."

"I insist you keep them," said Natalie, "Believe me, I've more than plenty. Anyway, we've covered most of your attire for the evening; dress, shoes, jewelry. We still need to do your makeup, but that can wait. For now, what to do with your hair?"

"I absolutely love your hair, Hinata-Chan," said Clare as she sat Hinata in front of a vanity mirror, "I can't decide what to do with it. What do you think, Elaine; curls or a bun?"

"Whatever my Lady wishes, Miss Clare," said Elaine in her usual depressed tone.

"There's more going on here than you've told me, Clare-Chan," said Hinata as Natalie began setting Hinata's lavender locks into curlers, "I know there is, I'm a Shinobi."

"I was hoping to keep it a surprise until tonight," said Clare, "But you've found me out, Hinata-Chan. The truth is that tonight's Ball is more than an anniversary party. Tonight is when the Prince Henry announces whom he will marry."

"Really," said Hinata, "Let me guess, in order for Henry to one day be King, he must be married first."

"Right in one," said Natalie, "The law says that the heir to the throne must be married, and that he weds someone of noble blood."

"Well who's the lucky girl?" Hinata asked.

"You're looking at her," said Natalie. Hinata realized that the one she was looking at was indeed Clare.

"Idiot!" snapped Clare, "You weren't supposed to tell her!"

"Clare-Chan," said a stunned Hinata, "You're marrying the prince?"

"Well," said Clare reluctantly, "Well, yes I am."

There was then a sudden sob from Elaine. Hinata saw that her eyes were on the verge of tears. "Please excuse me, Miss Clare," said Elaine in a trembling voice. She rushed into the walk-in closet and slammed the door shut. Almost instantly there rose the sound of crying from the closet.

"Holy shitake mushrooms!" said Hinata, "Don't tell me that… Is she…"

"Yes," said Natalie, "Elaine is in love with my brother, and Henry is equally in love with her."

"If that's so why don't they get married?" Hinata asked.

"Remember what I said about the heir to the throne marrying noble blood?" said Natalie, "Well, Elaine is as common as a girl can get in Andalasia in terms of social status."

"We really don't know much about her family," said Clare, "Her parents disappeared when she was a baby. I met her when she was seven years old, wandering the streets, begging for scraps. My family took her in as my companion and later as my personal assistant. I helped pay for her studies in magic."

"How did she and Henry wind up together?" Hinata asked.

"Clare's family is second in power only to mine," said Natalie, "Being as I'm Clare's Best Friend For Life, we spent a lot of time together. And since Henry's my brother, he spent a lot of time around Clare and Elaine. A lot of people were counting on Clare and Henry falling in love, but instead my brother fell for Elaine. Now I have nothing against Elaine; nothing would make me happier to see her and my brother together. But the law is against them; Henry must marry noble blood."

"And what about you, Clare-Chan," said Hinata, "What's your say on this?"

"I do have feelings for Henry," said Clare, "We've been very good friends since we were children. I love him like a brother, but I'm not in love with him."

"Besides," said Natalie, "Clare has problems of her own. She's also in love with someone outside her social class."

"You traitor!!" snapped Clare, "You promised to keep that to yourself!" she then sighed in annoyance, "Alright, you might as well know, Hinata-Chan. His name is Jacob Douglass, a junior member of the Royal Guard, he's the most dreamiest guy I've ever seen."

"But rules are rules," said Natalie, "My bother cannot marry the girl he loves, and Clare is forced away from the man she loves."

"Well that just plain sucks ass," said Hinata, "Natalie-Chan, your father is the King of Andalasia, why can't he just change the law and allow your brother and Clare to marry who they want?"

"There are some laws that even a King cannot change," said Clare, "Not without the unanimous approval of the ruling council, and those stuck up hacks would never approve of anyone mingling outside their class. Hinata-Chan, you must promise not to tell anyone. If word of this gets out it could ruin not only a lot of people's reputation, it could force Henry to abdicate his claim to the throne."

"And believe me," said Natalie, "The last person Andalasia wants to be King would do anything to disgrace both Henry and Clare."

"You have my word of honor," said Hinata, "I'll keep this to myself."

It was then that Elaine finished sobbing and emerged from the closet, her eyes red and puffy. "Forgive me, Miss Clare," she said, "I just needed a personal moment."

"You don't have to put up a front for our guest, Elaine," said Clare, "Hinata knows."

"Oh," said Elaine.

"This whole situation is unfair," said Hinata, "Who is this person who would benefit from the pain of two pairs of star-crossed lovers?"

"The worst excuse for a human being alive," said Natalie, "You'll see him at the Ball tonight. You can't miss that scumbag; he'll be the one undressing me with his mind. How that sack of pig vomit wormed his way onto the ruling council, I'll never know, or maybe I don't want to know."

"Don't even think about that slime ball," said Clare, "I'll have his head on a silver platter if he even touches you." She sighed as if to release some pent up anger. "Don't worry about us, Hinata-Chan, just focus on having a good time tonight."

"Well if there's anything I can do to set things right," said Hinata, "Anything that can help you and Henry be with the ones you love, just tell me."

"That's very sweet of you, Hinata-Chan," said Clare, "But there's nothing that you can do to change things here."

"I wouldn't count on that," said Hinata, "I'm a Shinobi, helping people is what I do." Just then, all the discussion of forbidden love and royal politics made Hinata think of Naruto. She wondered if he was thinking of her, and whether or not his mission was as boring as he said it would be.

Meanwhile…

Hinata was the last thing on Naruto's mind as he, Sasuke and Sakura hurried back to the village at top speed. The fact that Naruto was carrying the body of the dead Grass ninja didn't bother him, nor did it slow him down. In truth, he was so intent on getting back to the village, that Sasuke and Sakura were having trouble keeping up with him.

"For crying out loud, Naruto!" shouted Sakura, "Slow down already!!"

"Can't do that, Sakura!!" Naruto said, "This Grass ninja, or whoever he was, he had an assassination order with Granny Tsunade's name on it! The sooner we get back home, the better!"

"You won't have long to wait!" said Sasuke. Sure enough the familiar walls of The Hidden Leaf Village just came in sight. They had made good time getting back, having only been running for less than 90 minutes. The three Chûnin cleared the forest and passed through the open gates, hell-bent on reaching the Hokage's office as soon as they possibly could.

Just up the street, Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji had returned from their latest mission, only five minutes ago, when Shikamaru sensed someone approaching behind them. He looked back to see Naruto and his team coming on like three freight trains.

Shikamaru pilled Chouji and Ino out of the way just in time to avoid being run over. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura kept going, leaving three trails of dust behind them.

"Naruto, you idiot!!" shouted Ino, "You nearly killed us just now!!"

"Can't talk, Ino!!" Sakura shouted back, "We've got to see the Hokage right now!!"

"Stupid Sakura," grumbled Ino, "Stupid Naruto, and stupid Sasuke, Sakura's welcome to him!"

"What was Naruto carrying?" asked Chouji.

"Either I need glasses," said Shikamaru, "Or Naruto has a dead body on his back."

Further into the village, Konohamaru, grandson of the late Third Hokage, was about to cross the street, just as Naruto and his team were charging towards him. Fortunately for Konohamaru, his teacher and team leader, Ebisu, was there to stop the young Genin from being run over. Again, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura kept running towards Tsunade's office.

"Ebisu-Sensei," said Konohamaru, "Why is Naruto carrying a dead body?"

"I do not know, Konohamaru," said Ebisu as he adjusted his black sunglasses, "But whatever the reason, it is sure to mean trouble for this village."

Finally, Naruto and his team entered the main office building of the village, but they didn't stop running until they burst into Tsunade's office, where the 5th Hokage was going over more 'paperwork' with Shizune.

"Great!" said Naruto, "You're still alive." He brashly tossed the body onto Tsunade's desk.

"What the hell is this!?!!" exclaimed the 5th Hokage, her face contorted with a mixture of surprise, rage and confusion.

"That is what's left of the spy you sent us to intercept," said Sasuke, "We tried to take him alive, but he swallowed a cyanide pill. You'll notice that he's not from the Hidden Sound Village, nor does he look like he's from the Hidden Grass Village as his forehead protector says."

"He was carrying this," said Sakura as she handed Tsunade the deceased spy's message, "I decoded it. It's an assassination order, with you, Lady Tsunade, as the target."

"'Eliminate the Sucker,'" Tsunade read, "Well whoever wants me dead isn't a debt collector, or anyone whom I owe money, otherwise they wouldn't want to kill me outright. No, someone else wants me dead." She stood up and faced the window, "But who? And why? Shizune, run a background check on our dead friend here, find out who he was and where he came from."

"What do you want us to do, Lady Tsunade?" Sasuke asked.

"You wanted a more exciting mission, Naruto," said Tsunade as she bent down to scratch Tonton behind his ears, "Well, you got one. This spy was delivering my death warrant to someone in this village; I'll bet it's a sleeper unit of at least two assassins. Naruto, I want you and your team to find those assassins and bring them to me."

"Consider it done," said Naruto eagerly, "Believe it!"

"Any word on Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing new to report," said Tsunade, "He and Might Guy are still confined to the hospital until the doctors say they can leave, which means they're stuck in bed until I say so."

"They deserve it," said Naruto as he, Sasuke and Sakura turned to leave, "Eating all that eel."

"One more thing, Naruto," said Tsunade, "When you find the assassins, keep them alive this time. I want answers."

"You got it, Granny Tsunade!" with that he hurried out of the office, with Sasuke and Sakura shortly after him.

"I swear, Shizune," said Tsunade through gritted, "One of these days, I'm gonna tear that boy a new one."

"He truly is his father's son," said Shizune.

"Indeed," said Tsunade, "I can't hide the truth from Naruto any longer, I just can't. To hell with the consequences, I will tell him what really happened the night the 4th Hokage sealed the 9-Tailed Fox Demon inside his body. Not today, but soon, soon I will tell Naruto the truth."

There was a moment's pause as both female ninjas thought about the situation, before Shizune spoke, "Is there anything you need, Lady Tsunade?"

"There is one thing you can do for me right now, Shizune," said Tsunade, "Get this damned thing off my desk!!" she pointed at the dead body.

Back in Andalasia…

It was just before 7:15 in the evening when Hinata entered the Ball Room. She was wearing the blue and gold evening gown Natalie picked out for her, her hair done up in curls. "I'd say we did a fantastic job," said Clare, who was wearing a peach colored one sleeve dress, "Wouldn't you agree, Natalie?"

"Without a doubt," said Natalie, who was wearing different shades of gold.

"I really don't know about this," said Hinata in a nervous tone, "I'm not all that big on large parties."

"You'll be fine," said Clare, "You are going to drive the boys wild."

"I already have a boyfriend," said Hinata.

"Really!?" asked Clare, "And when were you going to tell me this?"

Hinata was at a lost for words, but fortunately she didn't have to speak. There was a sudden ruckus at the ballroom entrance. "What do you mean my dog can't come in!?!" exclaimed a voice Hinata recognized as Kiba's. There at the entrance was Kiba and Shino, both is black tuxedos, and Akamaru, shampooed, clipped and wearing a bowtie collar.

"I'm sorry, sir," said the doorman, "But there's a strict 'No Pets Allows' policy for the ballroom. I'm afraid your dog will have to wait with the other pets outside."

"It'll be a cold day in hell when I go to a party and Akamaru has to wait outside," said Kiba, "If Akamaru isn't welcome, then I won't either, right Akamaru?"

'Darn Right!" barked Akamaru.

"Hold on, Kiba-San," said Shino, "There's no logical reason why you shouldn't attend. Besides," he then bent towards Kiba's ear, "I wish to make a good impression, and it would only make matters worse if I were to walk in alone."

"You've got a crush on Elaine," Kiba said slyly, "Don't you?"

"It's nothing like that," said Shino, "I value Miss Elaine for her intelligence, she's a good conversationalist."

"It's a crush," said Kiba

"It's not a crush," said Shino in his most serious tone, "And I'll thank you to keep that to yourself. If you tell such a rumor to anyone back home, anyone, especially Naruto, and I'll make you regret it for the rest of your natural life. Now come on, we're missing the party."

"Alright, already," said Kiba, "Just give me a minute with Akamaru. He then walked over to Akamaru, "Sorry, boy, but it looks like you're gonna have to sit this one out."

'Are you kidding?' whined Akamaru, 'I had to get a bath, a haircut and a manicure, all in one day, and now you're telling me it's for nothing? What's up with that!?'

"I don't like it any more than you do," said Kiba, "But rules are rules."

'I don't want to wait outside!' Akamaru pouted, 'I want to socialize!'

"Don't look at me in that tone of voice!" Kiba demanded, "It's not my fault these idiots don't like dogs!" There were a few tense seconds of silence as master and dog glared at each other, "Look, if it'll make you feel better, I'll have then save some hors d'oeuvres in a doggie bag for you, how does that sound?"

'Will they have those tiny hotdogs on toothpicks?' Akamaru asked, 'I love those.'

"I'll have then send out a whole try full of them," said Kiba. With that Akamaru nodded in agreement and was led away by one of the servants.

'Don't forget the crackers with the chopped liver!' Akamaru called out, 'that's absolutely important! And make sure there's plenty of caviar!'

"I won't forget!" said Kiba. With that he and Shino entered the ballroom.

"That must have been awfully difficult for you, Kiba," said Hinata, "I know how close you and Akamaru are."

"Thanks, Hinata," said Kiba, "Poor Akamaru, having to sit outside, with nobody but snobbish pets for company, I'm gonna have a word with whoever decided that dogs couldn't come in…here…" It was then that Kiba got a good look at Hinata, "Wow! I mean, really wow!!"

"Those colors suit you perfectly, Hinata," said Shino.

"You really think so?" said an embarrassed Hinata.

"I told you you'd look fantastic," said Natalie. She then noticed that Kiba had his gaze locked on her, "I see you're admiring my attire for the evening. Good sir Kiba, would you do the honor of dancing with me this evening?"

"I'd love to," said a stunned sounding Kiba.

"It is well that Kiba recently took dancing lessons," Shino said as Natalie dragged Kiba onto the dance floor.

"He'll need them," said Clare, "Natalie happens to be the best dancer in all of Andalasia."

"I know," said Hinata, "I saw all her trophies." Just then Hinata had this nagging feeling that someone, or something, was watching her. She saw a slight movement out of the corner of her eye, towards the fruit table. She looked and saw nothing. Wait, was that apple floating?

"_Byakugan!_" she whispered, activating her family's Kekkei Genkai. With her vision extended in every direction, Hinata soon had the entire ballroom scanned. Yet she saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"What's wrong?" Clare asked, "You got all tense for a second."

"Nothing," said Hinata as her eyes returned to normal, "Nothing's wrong."

"What did you see?" Shino asked, "You wouldn't have used your Kekkei Genkai in public if nothing was wrong."

"It's nothing, really," said Hinata, "I thought I saw something weird, but it turned out to be just a trick of the light." _It was a trick of the light_, she thought, _Apples don't float in midair._

"That was close," said Talon, "That girl with the freaky eyes almost saw us."

"She possessed a powerful bloodline ability," said Malicious, "But there was no need for concern. The only way a human can see us Shinigami is if they were to touch a Death Note, and I have mine secured." Indeed, his black notebook was strapped to his side.

"Oh," said Talon, who was carrying his Death Note in his clawed hand, "That's a good idea. Oh look! More apples!"

"Be very careful!" Malicious said gravely, "We may be invisible to human eyes, but they can see an apple floating in the air. If you're going to gorge yourself, make sure nobody's looking first."

"Has anyone told you that you are nagger?" Talon asked. He checked that all human eyes were occupied elsewhere, then grabbed another apple, while Malicious took one for himself. "Anyway," continued Talon after biting into his apple, "You said that things would get interesting. I'm still waiting."

"Patience," said Malicious, "I promised you a show, you'll get it before the night is over." With that the mummified Shinigami bit into his apple.

"It's almost 8 o'clock," said Clare as she looked among the faces of the party guests, "They're gonna announce our engagement at 8:30. Where's Henry? He promised to dance with me before the engagement announcement."

"I haven't seen him, Miss Clare," said Elaine, she sounded a bit more relaxed than earlier, "Maybe he got cold feet. Wait… Oh Gods!! There he is!"

"Where?" Clare asked.

"On the other side of the dance floor," said Elaine, now sounding more tensed and depressed than before, "Over there, talking with his mother."

Hinata looked across the ballroom to where Elaine indicated. She saw a young man about 20 years old with shoulder length brown hair tied back in a ponytail. He was tall, about 5'10" with dark brown, almost black eyes. He wore a red and gold suit.

The woman he was talking to was an older version of Natalie; same hair, same eyes, only about 25 years older or so. She wore a sapphire blue gown.

"Henry!!" Clare exclaimed happily as she hurried across the dance floor, "Did you honestly think you could avoid me all evening?" She then dragged the poor boy back across the ballroom, "Hinata-Can, This is my, ahem, 'beloved' fiancée, Prince Henry. Henry, this is my friend form the north, Hinata Huyga."

"How do you do, Miss Huyga," said Henry.

"It is an honor to meet you, Prince Henry," said Hinata as she and Shino bowed.

Just then the current dance ended. Natalie and Kiba walked over, "I must say, Kiba Inuzuka," said Natalie, "You're a terrific dancer."

"You're pretty great yourself," said Kiba, "And not just as a dancer."

"Say, where's Akamaru?" Natalie asked.

"The idiots at the door wouldn't let him in," said Kiba, "Poor guy's probably miserable right now." In truth, Akamaru was doing okay. He and the other royal pets were being treated to an all-you-can-eat spread of pet snacks, but Kiba didn't know that.

It was then that Natalie noticed that Henry was standing right in front of her. "There you are, big brother, I thought you'd be a no show for tonight."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world, Natalie," said Henry. Hinata then noticed that Henry's eyes kept meeting Elaine's. Both were staring at each other with intense longing, yet kept their emotions masked.

"So you're Henry," said Kiba, "Well, I've got something to tell you. This 'no pets allowed' rule, it sucks ass. I mean it really sucks ass."

"Before you go any further, Kiba," said Shino, "My chakra bugs are agitated; something rotten is approaching."

"Oh crap!" said Natalie, "It's him! That pervert I mentioned earlier, please tell me he's not coming over here!"

"Too late," said Clare. Hinata then noticed a man in his late twenties approaching; a man with facial features much like a rat, a total sleaze if Hinata ever saw one. He carried a bronzed-tip cane for ornamental purposes.

"Who or what is that creature?" Hinata asked Clare.

"That," said Clare, her voice heavy with dislike, "Is Silas Dubois, a very powerful, very influential man in the ruling class. His family has been lusting after the throne for generations, and he himself has been lusting after Natalie for years."

"Um, Lord Silas," said Natalie in a slightly anxious tone, "I was unaware you were attending tonight's festivities."

"Natalie darling," said Lord Silas in a snobbish accent, "I would never miss any occasion, as long as you were there. I believe the next dance is about to start."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Lord Silas," said Clare, "But Natalie already has a partner for tonight."

Kiba then realized that everyone was looking at him. He started to sweat, but then realized that the girl he was developing a crush on was counting on him, "Yeah, Natalie and I are kind of together tonight."

"And who might you be to think himself worthy of even being in the same room with The Princess Natalie?" Lord Silas asked.

"He is Kiba Inuzuka," said Natalie as she held onto Kiba's arm, causing him to blush somewhat, "Of The Hidden Leaf Village. And before you ask, my dance card is full for the evening."

"Pity," said Silas as he glared daggers at Kiba, "Another time then." He nodded curtly to Henry and Clare, then to Natalie before walking away.

"Good gods!" exclaimed Henry, "That man is such an asshole."

"Did you see the way he was looking at me just now?" Kiba asked, "It was like he was telling me to get away from his property, or something like that, like he wanted to rip my arms off."

"Relax, babe," said Natalie, "that worm Silas would never do anything to threaten his reputation, especially not around my mother. Oh, hi mom!"

"My sweet, innocent Natalie!" exclaimed Queen Rachael as she hurried over to the group, "Did that sack of pig vomit touch you?"

"Everything's cool, mom," said Natalie, "My brave, handsome date defended me. Oh, this is Kiba. Isn't he dreamy?" She clung to his arm again.

Queen Rachael then glared at Kiba as if in appraisal, "Well, he's a better catch than your last boyfriend, I'll admit that. Let's get one thing straight, Kiba Inuzuka, I didn't raise my Natalie to go out with just anyone. The boy she dates must be strong of character, not just physically strong, of which I can obviously see. I expect you to protect my little girl from more than just snobbish scoundrels." She bent closer to Kiba so only he could here her next words, "And if you do anything to hurt Natalie, or allow her to come to harm, I'll skin you alive." She then straightened up, "Have fun you two, enjoy the rest of the party." With that she went to join her husband.

"I know what you're thinking," said Natalie as Kiba stood there stunned, "Don't worry, she's not crazy, just a little overprotective. I can handle myself in a fight."

"I bet you can," said Kiba, "Maybe we can compare techniques tomorrow; my team and I are here until the end of the week."

"That sounds lovely," said Natalie as she and Kiba headed onto the dance floor again.

"Looks like your friend Kiba got more out of this trip than he bargained for," said Clare.

"Indeed," said Shino, "But he doesn't seem to mind at all. Regardless, what is the situation between your fiancée and your personal assistant?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Clare.

"I may not have the Byakugan, like Hinata," said Shino, "But my eyes are clearly open."

"You can trust him, Clare-Chan," said Hinata, "Shino-San knows how to keep a secret."

"He'd better," said Clare, "'Cause a lot more than reputations are on the line."

"You dragged me here for this?" Talon moaned as he and Malicious watched Clare explain to Shino the 'Henry-Elaine' situation. "If I'd known this would be so boring, I would have stayed back in our world."

"Just relax," said Malicious, "Have another apple or two. Trust me, the fun part is just around the corner."

"You could at least let me write a name or two in my Death Note," Talon muttered, "That'll stir things up."

"You'll do no such thing," Malicious said sternly, "Not tonight anyway."

**We interrupt this fan fiction, to bring you, the readers, the basic rules of the Death Note. They are as follows…**

**The human whose name is written in this note shall die.**

**This note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.**

**If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject's name, it will happen.**

**If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a heart attack.**

**After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds (400 seconds).**

**We thank you for your patience, and now return you to your regulary scheduled fan fiction.**

"There a guy over there who's just begging me to write his name down," said Talon, "Just one name, that's all, and 40 seconds later, bam! Instant heart attack. Or maybe a suicide or two? Or better yet, spontaneous combustion! Wouldn't that be something to see?!"

"Later," Malicious said more firmly, "Now be patient, the fireworks are about to begin."

It was at 8:30 on the dot when a gong rang for everyone's attention. "Good people of Andalasia," said King Joshua, "Tonight we celebrate our kingdom's 500th birthday." There was a loud round of clapping and cheering from the guests. The King raised his hands for silence, "Yes, tonight is a proud night, but there's more. As you know, the laws set forth by the first rulers of this kingdom clearly state that the heir to the throne must be married.

"It is with much fatherly pride that I announce that my son, Henry, has chosen his future Queen." Just then a spotlight shone on Henry and Clare. Everyone in the room cheered and applauded the future couple, yet only a handful of people knew that the union wouldn't be a very happy one.

Suddenly there was an intense flash of dark purple light from the middle of the ballroom. The ominous light startled everyone, forcing the guests away from the center of the room. When the light cleared there stood a man in venomous-purple robes with the hood covering his face in shadow, with glowing red eyes emanating from beneath the hood. A symbol stylized the front of the intruder's robes; a black hand with a purple outline.

"People of Andalasia!" shouted the intruder, his voice twisted with hate, "Pay heed to my words, for they carry the fate of your kingdom!"

"Who the hell are you!!" snapped Queen Rachael.

"I am the emissary of the true master of the world," spoke the intruder, "The living god whom all shall bow down before; The Dark Lord Manos!" The ballroom erupted into mixed shouts of denial, anger and fright.

"If this is an attempt at humor," said Joshua, "It is not very amusing. Manos is dead!"

"Oh he is very much alive," said the intruder, "And very angry at what this kingdom did to him 400 years ago. I come tonight to deliver the words of Manos: 'Be afraid, for if my demands are not met, Andalasia shall burn to the ground!'"

Again there was a burst of angry shouting, punctuated with cries of fright before the intruder continued, "My master's demands are simple; this kingdom shall submit and proclaim Manos it's new god. All shall bow down and worship the true master of the world, and all shall obey his commands."

"What makes you think we Andalasian's would ever submit to a monster like Manos?" Henry asked.

"Have you recently heard from your neighbors?" the intruder asked, "The kingdoms of Kitanos and Gorovia have already submitted to their new god, so the true master of the world has set his eyes on the nation that originally banished him. Oh, I nearly forgot, there is one more demand. The girl, the Lady Clare Rachuba, she is to come with me at once. The Dark Lord has chosen her as his new bride."

Several people in the room tried to shout 'Over my dead body,' including Hinata and Henry, but Elaine beat them all to it; "If you wish to take Miss Clare, you'll have to go through me first!!"

"The word of Manos is law," said the intruder, "All who disobey must perish!" He snapped his fingers, (insert finger snapping sound). From out of nowhere appeared six ninjas wearing black uniforms, their forehead protectors inscribed with the same symbol as the intruder. "Secure the girl! Kill anyone who interferes!!"

Time seemed to slow down as the black-clad ninjas rushed at Clare. Henry and several bodyguards tied to intercept them, but they were too slow. One of the dark ninjas grabbed Clare, but gasped in surprise as he found himself holding only a piece of wood.

"Substitution Jutsu," said Hinata, for she had pulled Clare out of the way and replaced her with the piece of wood. She then deposited Clare beside Henry, "Take care of her and leave this to us." From beneath her curled hair Hinata pulled out a pair of concealed kuni knifes. She threw one at the lead dark ninja. Her aim was true as it imbedded itself in the dark ninja's forehead.

Shino threw two shuriken he had hidden in his tuxedo pocket, while launching a small swarm of his chakra beetles. Two more of the dark ninjas went down.

"To hell with 'no pets allowed'!" spat Kiba, "Akamaru!!!" Half a second later the nin-dog burst through one of the ballroom windows. Shaking himself free from the broken glass, Akamaru then leapt at one of the dark ninjas, tackling him to the ground and ripping his throat out.

Another dark ninja threw a kuni knife at Kiba, but he intercepted the incoming blade with one of his own. He then rushed at the dark ninja, "Fang Overfang!!" Twisting into a spiral, Kiba crushed the dark ninja.

Hinata then went after the last dark ninja, "Gentle Fist Style!!" Channeling chakra into her fingertips, she tapped several key pressure points on the dark ninja's torso. Two seconds later he fell dead to the floor from instant heart failure.

"Clare-Chan!" said Hinata, "Are you alright!?"

"I'm fine," said Clare, "You saved my life, Hinata-Chan."

"Over already?" Kiba asked, "I was just getting warmed up."

"If this is all your master has to offer," said Shino to the intruder, "Then he must be a weak god indeed."

"You three shall pay for your insolence!" spat the intruder, "You shall beg to be allowed to worship Manos, before the true master of the world traps your souls in the nether world. As for the rest of you!! I shall return in seven days time. By then, you, Joshua, shall have made the necessary arrangements for Andalasia's submission to The Dark Lord. And the girl, Clare Rachuba, she shall be made ready to become Manos' new bride. Remember! Seven days!!" With that he disappeared in another flash of purple light."

"Well this sucks," said Kiba.

"I told you there'd be fireworks," said Malicious, "Aren't you glad you stayed after all?"

"Ryku was right," said Talon, "Humans are very interesting."

**The end of chapter 3.**

Naruto: This is getting nuts! How much longer am I going to be a secondary character in my own story?

Andrewk9000: As long as I say so. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Naruto: I'm in the story!

Andrewk9000: And I can take you out of it just as easily. Look, if it'll make you feel better, your part will be bigger starting next chapter. There, satisfied?

Naruto: How do I know you're not pulling my chain?

Andrewk9000: (sigh) You drive a hard bargain, Naruto. Here, take a look at the outline, but only read the part for Chapter 4. (hands Naruto outline)

Naruto: Hey, this is good. I mean, really good, believe it!

Andrewk9000: Glad you like it.

Rock Lee: What's good?

Andrewk9000: Don't show him! (takes outline back)

Rock Lee: Show me what!? What's happening next!?! I want to know!!

Naruto: Can't tell you, Bushy Brows. But between you and me, we're gonna get this big clue onto what's really going on.

Rock Lee: Cool!!

AndrewK9000: You think that's cool? Next chapter, Naruto will be told something really big, but it'll only be for him to hear. We won't know what it is until much later.

Naruto: Wait! What secret? That wasn't in the outline!

Andrewk9000: Sorry, that's all for now.

Rock Lee: What is it!? Come on! Tell me!!

Andrewk9000: I've said enough already! You'll just have to wait.

Neji: Next chapter, 'The New Enemy: Who Is This Manos Anyway?'

Tenten: Be sure to leave lots of good reviews!

Naruto: What secret!?!!!


	5. Chapter4: The New Enemy

**Chapter 4**

**The New Enemy: Who Is This Manos Anyway?**

To say that the ballroom was in an uproar would be an understatement. It was total pandemonium as the guests panicked out of fear at what had happened. It was so loud in the ballroom, that even someone as composed as Shino couldn't take it any longer.

"QUIET!!" he shouted. The noise level dropped dramatically in the ballroom after Shino's sudden outburst; you could hear a pin drop.

"Damn, Shino," said Kiba, "You've got some serious pipes."

"I don't like riots," said Shino.

"Yeah," said Hinata, "Alright, first thing's first. Can anyone here tell me who or what is Manos?"

"It's nothing," said Henry, "Manos is a myth, a scary story intended to frighten naughty children."

"No, son," said King Joshua in a grave tone, "Manos is very real. Or at least he was real."

"If I may, Your Majesty," said Elaine, "According t the histories, Manos was a wizard who attempted to dominate the world, starting right here in Andalasia. His schemes were thwarted, and he and his followers were banished from the kingdom. This was nearly 400 years ago."

"I was told he died," said Henry.

"No, Henry," said Elaine, "Manos was one of the greatest magic users of his time, perhaps of all time. If anyone could have figured out how to extend his lifespan, it's him. And if he is still alive, if he still aspires to dominate the world, then our troubles have only just begun."

"Don't worry, Elaine," said Henry, "As long as we're together, nothing can hurt you." With that they embraced.

"Aha!!" shouted a snobbish voice. There stood Silas Dubois, his finger pointing accusingly at Henry and Elaine, "There's your future King for you!! Look at him, fortunate sons and daughters of Andalasia!! Look at your Prince! See him consorting with a lower class whore!! A common street urchin whelp!!"

"You scurvy shyster bastard!!" shouted Clare, "How dare you say such things about Elaine!! Retract your words at once!!"

"I will not!" spat Silas, "Why should I take back the truth? And you; don't think I don't know about your affairs! Yes, I know all about your so-called love with Jacob Douglas, another common street urchin whelp if I've ever seen one." He then addressed the assembled guests, "Are these the people you wish as your next King and Queen? Do you really want someone who mingles outside their class as your rulers? I think not!"

"Lord Silas!!" exclaimed King Joshua, "You are rapidly wearing out your welcome in my home. I suggest that you hold your silence!" He then glared at Henry, "We'll discuss your peccadilloes later, son. For now I suggest to everyone that we call it a night. The last thing we need is a panic, so everyone should go home. I shall speak to the ruling council tomorrow." With that the guests began to disperse.

"Elaine," said King Henry, "I shall speak with you." He then looked at Hinata and her team, "You three as well." Before exiting the ballroom, The King motioned to one of the servants, "Send word to Commander Howard that he is needed."

"My King," said the servant, "Commander Howard has been back in the city for a hour. He just arrived at the palace."

"Then tell him that I wish to see him in my study at once." The servant bowed and left.

Hinata and her team, along with Elaine and Clare, followed King Joshua to his private study.

"Your Majesty," said Elaine once everyone was in the room, "I… what I mean to say is…"

"We shall discuss your relationship with my son later," said Joshua, "Right now, Elaine, I need to know everything you know about Manos; his strategy, any weaknesses, anything."

"Most of what was written on Manos has been lost to time," said Elaine, "But was is knows is that 400 years ago he broke away from the majority of magic users and formed his own association. He built an army, consisting mostly of brigands and rouge swordsmen, with several high-powered mages as his commanders. Obviously, he's now employing ninjas."

"Rouge ninjas to be exact," said Shino, "Those six who were with the intruding emissary, they carried no markers of identification, other than the crest which I assume belongs to Manos. I couldn't identify what Shinobi village the six we killed tonight were from."

"Well if Manos has raised another army," said Elaine, "And has already conquered our neighbors, my assumption is that he'll wait to move until he has your answer, as to Andalasia's submission."

"My thoughts exactly." There at the doorway stood a tall man in a green and blue military uniform. He looked to be in his mid-40's, with graying brown hair and light green eyes. "If I were as overconfident as that egotistic traitor, I'd wait until I knew what my enemy's answer. Even then, it'll take Manos time to gather his full strength."

"Keith, my friend," said Joshua, "We missed you at the party."

"I apologize, Your Majesty," said Keith Howard, "I was delayed. But I'm here now."

"Let me guess," said Kiba, "You're in charge of the army here."

"Correct, young Shinobi," said Keith Howard.

"Tell me, Commander," said Joshua, "How stands the army of Andalasia? If Manos does attack, can we defeat him?"

"It depends," said Keith Howard, "Kitanos and Gorovia are to the west; there are several places where we can mount a proper defense. But…"

"But what?" Joshua asked.

"If I may speak frankly, my king," said Keith, "This kingdom doesn't have much of a full army; mostly Royal Guardsmen and policemen. If the rumors coming out of the west are true, then Manos is assembling the largest armed force the world has ever seen. By conquering and enslaving our neighbors, Manos has only increased his numbers.

"There's more. When word spreads to the people of Andalasia that Manos has not only returned, but has set his eyes on the kingdom, there'll be widespread panic and bedlam. While we're trying restore order within our borders, Manos can crush us before we can mount a proper defense."

"It's even worse than you think, Commander Howard," said Elaine, "Fear has always been Manos' greatest weapon. He uses fear like a Shinobi would use a kuni knife. It wouldn't surprise me if Kitanos and Gorovia were so afraid of Manos that they submitted if only to avoid being destroyed. It's only a matter of time before all of Andalasia learns that Manos seeks to conquer the kingdom. If the people of Andalasia are too afraid of Manos to fight, then the fight is over before it has begin."

"I agree," said Keith Howard, "My King, it will take more than royal authority to encourage the people to fight. Many still remember the nightmare that was your stepmother, Marissa."

"I'd rather not talk about my stepmother, Keith," said Joshua, "That cow of a sorceress seduced my father and plunged the kingdom into a age of terror."

"Exactly," said Keith, "It's been twenty-five years since Marissa was deposed. Since then peace and justice has been restored, but the last thing the people want is a war. Elaine is correct that all Manos has to do is frighten the people into submission. It will take more than Royal authority to convince Andalasia to go to war. If this kingdom is to survive what's coming, we'll need more than just a leader. What we need is a true hero; one who can inspire the people to stand against the tyranny of Manos and whatever horrors that madman has planned."

It was as if a light bulb clicked on above Hinata. "Forgive me for interrupting," said Hinata, "But I think I know where a hero can be found. I just need to send a message to my village."

"You write your message," said Elaine, "Tell me where you want it to go, and I'll make sure it gets there."

"While you're writing your message," said Joshua, "We shall move on to other matters." He motioned for another servant, "Tell my son that I will speak to him now. And bring in Guardsman Jacob Douglas, I'll speak with him as well."

A minute or so later Henry came into the study. With him was a young man wearing the uniform of the Royal Guard. He was tall, around 5'11" and seemed well built underneath his uniform. His hair was black and cut short. He had green eyes with a slight yellow tint. Clare was with them as well.

"Well, son of mine," said Joshua, "What's this I hear about you and Elaine?"

"What can I say, Father," said Henry, "I love Elaine with all my heart."

"That isn't what I wanted to hear, son," said Joshua, "How could you do this!? The law…"

"To hell with the law, Father!!" snapped Henry, "I love Elaine and she loves me equally. I can't change that, and nothing you or Mother can say or do can change it either."

"It's not my decision as to who you fall in love with, son," said Joshua, "But when the ruling council convenes tomorrow, you'll have to answer for your actions."

"Sorry for interrupting," said Kiba, "But what's the worse that can happen?"

"Haven't you been listening?" Clare asked. "In order for Henry to become the next king of Andalasia, he must marry someone of noble blood. I'm as noble as a girl can get in this kingdom, but now that everyone knows that Henry and Elaine are in love…"

"The upcoming union won't happen," said Elaine in her usual depressed tone, "This is all my fault."

"What are you talking about?" Kiba asked, "Again, what's the worse that can happen?"

"By falling in love with a 'commoner,'" said Clare, "Henry has disgraced himself in the eyes of the ruling council. In order to save face, he may have to abdicate his claim to the throne."

"Which is exactly what that worm Silas Dubois wants," sad Henry through gritted teeth, "I'll bet that what happened tonight was all his idea to disgrace me and Clare."

"Speaking of Clare," said Joshua, "Guardsman Douglas."

"I await your command, Sire!!" said the guardsman; he stood rigidly at attention.

"At ease," said Joshua, "All I want to know is what your intentions are with my future daughter-in-law."

"Sire! Permission to speak freely!!" exclaimed Jacob Douglas.

"Granted," said Joshua.

"Well," said Jacob Douglas in a more relaxed tone, "All I can say, Sire, is that I love Clare."

"And I love you, Jacob," said Clare, "I don't care what your social status is; you are my soul mate and I am yours, and nothing anyone can say or do can change that."

"And Elaine is my soul mate, Father," said Henry, "And I am hers."

"Putting aside who's whose soul mate," said Kiba, "I've got one more question; why does this Manos guy want Clare?"

"Yeah," said Clare, "What did I ever do to Manos?"

"It's nothing you did, Miss Clare," said Elaine, "It's your soul that lunatic wants. When the emissary said that Manos choose you as his bride, what's really going to happen is Manos is going to take your soul for his own and leave the rest of you to die. That's where Manos gets his power, from the captured souls of innocent young women, or at least what the stories say. He collects souls like a child would collect seashells or mangas."

"It'll be a cold day in hell before Manos gets his claws on Clare," said Jacob Douglas, "I'll die before I let that madman touch her."

"Same here," said Henry, "Clare and I have been friends for a long time. I would gladly risk my life to protect hers."

"Well that's all nice and romantic," said Kiba, "But what are we gonna do about this Manos? 'Cause if he's as scary as everyone thinks he is, then we're gonna need plenty of help. I mean, Hinata, Shino, Akamaru and I are involved, right?"

"Indeed," said Shino.

"I appreciate your concern," said Joshua, "But the situation will only get worse if everyone were to act rashly. We need to know for sure if Manos has indeed returned. Keith, I need you to confirm these rumors coming out of the west; whether or not Kitanos and Gorovia have truly fallen, and especially how large an army is gathering."

"Consider it done, My King," said Keith Howard. He saluted and left the study.

It was then that Hinata finished her message. She sealed the scroll with her family crest and handed it to Elaine. "Tell me exactly where you want it sent," said Elaine, "Specific details help a lot."

"The Hidden Leaf Village," said Hinata, "The desk of the 5th Hokage, Lady Tsunade."

Elaine then chanting in a language Hinata couldn't understand. There was a sudden flash of yellow light and the scroll was gone.

"What just happened?!" Kiba asked.

"I used a teleportation spell," said Elaine, "One for sending messages at high speed. It's not instantaneous; I'm not a miracle worker. The scroll should reach the desk of the 5th Hokage sometime around daybreak, maybe a bit before. These things aren't exact, time wise."

"I believe all that can be done tonight has been done," said Joshua, "It is getting late, and there is much to do tomorrow." With that he also left the study. Everyone else soon left as well for his or her separate domiciles.

"Clare-Chan," said Hinata, "Whatever happens next, I just want you to know, I'm there for you, me and my team. And we're also here for Henry, Elaine, and even though I just met him, your boyfriend Jacob, him too."

"You're the best, Hinata-Chan!" exclaimed Clare as she gave Hinata a huge hug, "But were you serious about summoning a hero from your village? No disrespect, but that kind of sounds a little farfetched."

"Naruto Uzumaki is anything but farfetched," said Hinata, "In his own right, he is a hero."

"This Naruto," said Clare, "He wouldn't happen to be the boyfriend you mentioned earlier, wouldn't he?"

"It's getting late," said Hinata, "We'll talk in the morning."

"Oh come on!" whined Clare, "I want to know!"

"Well," said Hinata hesitantly, "Alright, I'll spill. It all started back when I was studying in Ninja Academy…" As Hinata told Clare about her crush on Naruto, her thoughts strayed to said Shinobi. She wondered if Tsunade would allow Naruto to go to Andalasia, and most importantly, when.

…The Hidden Leaf Village…5:17 AM…

"You're just making it harder on yourselves," said an irate Tsunade, "Who are you working for!?"

It was all too easy for Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura to discover the sleeper cell, once they knew what to look for. A thorough background check on the dead ninja they brought back to the village revealed that he was originally from the Hidden Grass Village, but had disappeared several years ago, along with the three other members of his team.

Using the information on the missing team, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura soon identified the sleeper cell. One was disguised as a fishmonger, the second a carpenter, the third a glassblower. All three were in positions where they could get close to Tsunade without arousing suspicion. Tsunade recognized them for who they really were from the files on the missing Grass Ninjas.

The three would-be assassins were found gathered in an abandoned warehouse, where Naruto and his team, along with Shikamaru and his team, apprehended them before the infiltrators could scatter or try to kill themselves. All this was done before midnight, and so now, around the crack of dawn, the three would-be assassins sat restrained before the short-tempered 5th Hokage.

"I'm growing impatient with you three," said Tsunade, "Who put the hit out on me!? Who wants me dead!? It's obvious that you three have abandoned your village, so who are you working for!?"

The three infiltrators held their silence, none of them showing any emotion as they just stared idly at the ceiling.

"Alright then," said Tsunade, a vicious glint in her eyes, "This goes against everything I believe in as a Medical Ninja, but I want answers and I want them now. I'll start with breaking every bone in your bodies, beginning with your kneecaps. From there I'll stick red-hot needles in your eyes, then I'll slowly flay the skin from your torsos, after I tear your limbs off."

"You wouldn't dare!" snapped the assassin who posed as the carpenter, "You're a Healer! You're not allowed to hurt innocent lives!"

"True," said Tsunade, "But you three are far from innocent. Besides, I'm also the leader of this village; it's my duty to protect its people, as well as protect my own life. Now, this is your last chance, before I go medieval on your asses; Who are you working for!? Is it Orochimaru!? The Akatsuki!? Tell me!!"

"Neither," said the faux fishmonger, "We do not serve those pathetic dreamers. Our master is the true master of the world, the living god whom shall bring humanity to its knees. Our master is the Dark Lord Manos."

"Manos?" Tsunade asked. The name sounded faintly familiar to the 5th Hokage, but she couldn't remember where or when she heard it.

It was then that Naruto and his team entered the interrogation room. "We searched the quarters the assassins were staying in," said Sasuke, "All we found of importance was these." He handed Tsunade three forehead protectors, each stylized with a black hand with a purple outline.

"I've seen this before," said Tsunade, "Probably the same place I heard the name Manos. I just can't remember."

"Manos," said Naruto, "Sounds creepy."

Just then Shizune burst into the room. "Lady Tsunade! An urgent message from Hinata just came in!!"

"Hinata!?" exclaimed Naruto.

"What are you talking about, Shizune," said Tsunade, "Hinata and her team arrived in Andalasia this afternoon. They couldn't have sent a message so quickly.

"Well here's the message," said Shizune as she handed Tsunade a sealed scroll, "It just appeared on your desk a few minutes ago."

"What do you mean it just appeared on my desk?" Tsunade asked.

"That's just it," said Shizune, "It just popped in there."

Tsunade stared at the scroll before opening it. She read:

_Lady Tsunade,_

_I regret to inform you of any bad news occurring in the peaceful kingdom of Andalasia. However, trouble has struck this land._

_A dark wizard named Manos has threatened to destroy Andalasia, unless the kingdom submits totally. To make matters worse, this lunatic had demanded the life of my dear friend, The Lady Clare Rachuba. It is believed that Manos will take Clare's soul in order to bolster his power._

_There are as of yet unconfirmed rumors of a massive army gathering beyond Andalasia's western borders. The people of this kingdom are unprepared to resist such a host, for this army is no doubt the means by which Manos will crush Andalasia._

_I cannot idly stand by and allow this madman to do as he pleases, and my team is behind me. I request that Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka and his nin-dog Akamaru and myself, be allowed to stay in Andalasia and assist in whatever manner we can; both in the preparations of Andalasia's defenses and the protection of my friend Clare._

_I also request as many Chûnin and Jônin as possible be dispatched to Andalasia, for without any doubt, war is coming; a war that this kingdom has little hope of winning. What is needed most is someone who can inspire the people to stand against the tyranny of Manos, and that someone is Naruto Uzumaki._

_Whatever mission Naruto is on, I humbly ask that you reassign him to Andalasia, for I believe he can help this kingdom overcome the coming darkness. As Hokage the decision is of course yours, but I'm convinced that Naruto has what it takes to help save Andalasia from destruction or worse._

_I wouldn't ask if this weren't' a matter of life or death. Trust me, it is._

_With much respect,_

_Hinata Huyga_

"Now I remember where I heard the name Manos," said Tsunade, "My grandfather, the 1st Hokage, he told me stories of a dark wizard who once tried to take over the world. If this is the same Manos, if he really has returned, then Andalasia is up the creek without a paddle."

"Then what the hell are we standing around here for!?" exclaimed Naruto, "I'll be ready to go in five minutes!!"

"Not so fast, Naruto," said Tsunade, "I didn't say you could go. Not yet anyway. Shizune, I want a list of all available Chûnin and Jônin, and I want it five minutes ago."

"At once, Lady Hokage," said Shizune.

"What about those three, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked, referring to the three would-be assassins.

"Lock them up," Tsunade ordered, "Then report back here, Sakura. I've got a new mission for you and your team."

"Then you're gonna let me go to Andalasia?!" Naruto asked eagerly as Sakura lead the three prisoners away, "You're gonna let me help Hinata-Chan!?"

"Yes," said Tsunade, "But that's not the only reason you're going. I believe I have a general idea why Manos put a hit out on me. The Five Shinobi Nations lay directly north of Andalasia. The ocean is to the east and south of the kingdom, so if there's an invasion coming from the west, north is where Andalasia would seek help."

"I think I know where you're going, Lady Tsunade" said Sasuke, "Manos seeks to dominate the world, so while he deals with Andalasia, he triggers a conflict among the Shinobi Villages. By framing the Hidden Grass Village with your assassination, we would naturally retaliate. Our allies, Hidden Sand, Hidden Waterfall and such, would join us, while our enemies, including the Hidden Sound Village, would fight against us."

"And after we burn ourselves out in another Great Shinobi War," said Tsunade, "Manos could just march all over what's left. Which is why he needs to be stopped as soon as possible."

"Who needs to be stopped as soon as possible?" Sakura asked as she came back in.

"This Manos guy tried to start another ninja war," said Naruto, "And we're going to stop him from taking over the world."

"Okay," said Sakura, "When do we leave?"

"Not yet," said Tsunade, "I may be a chronic gambler, but I'm not so stupid as to send only three Chûnin to fight a mad wizard."

Just then Shizune came back in, carrying a very short list. "It's not good, Lady Hokage. Nearly every Chûnin and Jônin in the village is occupied on missions, or, in the case of Kakashi Hitake and Might Guy, confined to hospital on your orders. These six are the only ones available for such a mission, nine if you count Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura." She handed Tsunade the list.

"Shikamaru Nara," said Tsunade as she read the list, "Ino Yamanaka, Chouji Akimichi, Rock Lee, Neji Huyga and Tenten. And with Hinata Huyga, Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka already in Andalasia, they'll be twelve, thirteen if you count Akamaru. So be it. Naruto, I leave this in your hands; gather your teammates for the mission; brief them on the situation, collect whatever equipment you deem necessary, and head south as soon as possible. I expect you to take care if this mess."

"You're putting me in charge?" Naruto asked.

"I don't see why I shouldn't for this mission," Tsunade said, "You were requested by name in Hinata's message. It's only natural that you be in command. I expect you to carry yourself accordingly."

Naruto, who was grinning like crazy, was speechless. His first command, at last, a mission where he was in charge. "I won't let you down," he finally said, "Lady Tsunade."

"Good," said Tsunade, a bit surprised that Naruto called her 'Lady' instead of 'Granny.' "Before you leave, Naruto, I wish to talk to you in private. There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

**The end of chapter 4.**

Naruto: Are you kidding me!? You're ending the chapter right now?! Just when Granny Tsunade is about to tell me the big secret!?

AndrewK9000: Hey, that's how it is. You don't like it, I can end the story right now.

Sakura: That's not necessary, we can wait to hear the secret, right, Naruto?

Naruto: Oh, alright, I'll wait.

AndrewK9000: Excellent!

Shino: Next chapter: What To Do? What To Do?

Ino: Be sure to leave plenty of great reviews!

Shikamaru: It'll be such a drag if you don't.


	6. Chapter5: What to do, what to do

**Chapter 5**

'**What To Do? What To Do?'**

…Andalasia, 10:47 AM…

Hinata and her team sat with Clare, Elaine, Natalie and her family as they watched from the Royal Seats, in the Grand Assembly Hall. For the past 45 minutes King Joshua had been addressing the ruling council of Andalasia on what is now being called 'the Manos situation.'

"As we speak," said Joshua, "Commander Howard is gathering information from the west; Before the day is out we expect to have confirmation on the rumors of this assumed massive army gathering beyond our borders. We shall decide what to do from that point, but only after we received confirmation. The last thing this kingdom needs is to allow fear to run wild. Any questions?"

Quite a lot of the assembled nobles had things to ask. "If the rumors are true," said one of the provincial Dukes, whom Clare identified as Richard Wallace, one of King Joshua's more loyal supporters, "That there is an army gathering to invade the kingdom, what is to be done about our defenses?"

"First and foremost," said Joshua, "Shall be the bolstering of Andalasia's armed forces. Our army has grown stagnant during this generation of peace. A general call for volunteers shall go throughout the kingdom. All those who wish to fight shall have their chance, both men and women."

"What of the incident at last night's Ball?" asked another provincial Duke, this one named Lucas Baxter, "Is it true that Manos has indeed returned?"

"I'd rather not comment on that subject until we have all the facts," said Joshua, "For all we know, that intruder last night was some nutcase seeking attention."

"But what if it is true," said a snobbish voice, "What if Manos has returned and has set his eyes on Andalasia?"

"Oh sht," said Henry as Silas Dubois stood up from his seat, "Here it comes."

"I for one am convinced," said Lord Silas, "That Manos has truly returned, and that he will carry out his threat to burn this kingdom to the ground, unless his demands are met. I for one have no intention of seeing my lands and property destroyed."

"Are you suggesting that we submit to that lunatic!?" asked one of the nobles, "Is that what you are suggesting, Lord Silas?!"

"Not at all," said Lord Silas smugly, "Only that we appease Manos, placate him enough to buy us time to negotiate."

"You can't negotiate with Manos," said Richard Wallace, "The man is totally insane, if you can still call him a man."

"Has anyone ever tried to negotiate with Manos?" Silas asked, "Perhaps he may be reasoned with enough to prevent the destruction of our lands and property." About half a dozen of the nobles nodded and murmured in agreement.

"The ones nodding like bobble-head dolls are with Silas," Clare whispered to Hinata. "All of them and their families were huge supporters of Marissa when she seduced her way to the throne."

"Since you claim to know so much about Manos, Lord Silas," said Joshua, "How do you suggest that we appease him?"

"By giving him what he wants," said Silas, "Or, whom he wants. I suggest that we deliver the Lady Clare Rachuba to Manos as a peace offering."

"Out of the question!!" exclaimed Henry, "Manos only wants Clare for her soul! We hand Clare over to Manos, and we'll only make him stronger."

"You seem to care deeply about a woman you hold no love for, Prince Henry," said Silas, "This from a man who would soil his family name by consorting with a filthy commoner."

"You slimy bastard!!" shouted Henry, "I challenge you!!"

"Enough!!" exclaimed Joshua, "Henry, you will hold your silence, and not throw death challenges so recklessly, I taught you better."

"Yes, Father," said Henry in a deflated tone. Hinata saw the look of delight on Silas' face, which only made her dislike him even more.

"And you, Lord Silas," continued Joshua, "You will hold your silence on matters concerning my son and his personal life, understood?"

"Of course, Your Majesty," said Silas as he gave an unconvincing bow, "I was only stating an option that could save the kingdom."

"Then know this, Lord Silas," said Joshua in a firmer tone, "I will never negotiate with the likes of Manos; never. If that madman has his eyes set on our kingdom, then no words can stop him. If he comes, then we must stand against him. We must all stand together and fight, or fall. It's that simple, for to live under the oppression of tyranny is a fate worse than death."

There was the briefest of pauses before the assembly hall erupted into applause from the nobles, while Silas and his supporters glared at Joshua, but held their silence.

It was then that Keith Howard entered the hall. "My King," said Commander Howard, his face and voice filled with dread, "I regret to report that the rumors are true. Manos has returned, and that he leads the army gathering to the west."

It suddenly got so quiet in the hall that one could hear a pin drop. "But there is good news," Keith continued, "Our scryers have determined that the numbers of this army is over 65,000 and growing."

"How is that good news?" asked one of the nobles.

"I'm getting there," said Keith, "Our scryers have also determined the gathering point of the enemy is well over a thousand miles beyond our western border. It will take weeks to move such a host, if not months. They have to organize supply trains and depots, among other administrative and bureaucratic matters. The logistics involved would only delay them further. Lords and Ladies of Andalasia, time is on our side, time to organize our defenses."

"You said the approaching army is over 65,000 strong," said Lucas Baxter, "Where is Manos getting such numbers?"

"He's already conquered two of our neighbors to the west," said Keith, "Maybe more have fallen. That madman has the populations and resources of at least two kingdoms to draw upon."

"He also has rouge Shinobi," said Shino, "Forgive my interruption, but I have examined the bodies of the slain ninjas who attacked the Ball last night. They do not belong to any Hidden Shinobi Village I can identify. It is obvious that Manos has a supply of well-trained mercenaries at his disposal."

"Which is why I've called for help from our village," said Hinata, "I've written to the 5th Hokage of the Konogakure, Lady Tsunade. Just before this meeting began, I received a response; help is on the way. Nine of the bravest and strongest Shinobi of my village are on their way here to assist in the coming crisis."

"We don't need help from ninja savages," Silas said uncouthly, "The only way we can assure our survival is by appeasing Manos."

"I thought we agreed that negotiations were out of the question," said Richard Wallace, "Besides, if you give Lady Clare to that madman Manos, who will Prince Henry marry? The law says that the royal heir must be married."

"True," said Silas, "But since Henry has disgraced himself by consorting outside his class, I believe that he should abdicate to preserve what little honor he has left. By the rights of succession, Henry's sister Natalie is next in line. And since the royal heir must be married, my thanks to Lord Wallace for reminding us of that little rule, I submit myself as an eligible candidate as her husband."

The few who supported Silas clapped in approval, while those on Joshua's side shouted in outrage.

"Lord Silas," said Joshua, his rage barley restrained, "I understand that you and your family were very close to my stepmother, Marissa, in more than just friendship. If this is your attempt at revenge, know that I can be very unpleasant when the mood strikes me. You shall never marry my daughter; not now, not tomorrow, not ever. My son, Henry, she shall be king, he just won't marry Lady Clare."

"Father!" exclaimed Henry, "I must speak."

"I think you've said enough," Silas said coldly.

"The floor is yours, son," said Joshua, "And you, Silas, you will hold your silence when my son is speaking. Go ahead, Henry."

"Thank you, Father," said Henry, "Lords and Ladies of Andalasia, I confess that I've disgraced myself. I've fallen in love with a girl of common blood, but I don't care. I've always believed that matters of the heart outshine social status. True, the law states that the royal heir must be married, but where exactly does it say that the spouse of the heir must be of royal blood?

"After last evening's fiasco, I went over every book of law I could find that deals with royal succession, and nowhere does it state that the heir must absolutely marry royal blood. In truth, the heir can marry whomever he or she chooses."

The assembly hall was suddenly filled with murmurs of surprise and confusion. "I was unaware of this," said Richard Wallace.

"I wasn't informed of this fact either," said Lucas Baxter.

"Hardly anyone knew," said Henry, "Or rather that they just didn't care. For generations now we nobles have been marrying only other nobles out of convince and political strategy, and only rarely for love. We've been ignoring the possibility of love outside the social structure because of prejudices and the conception that commoners are beneath us, that they're little better than animals. The truth is the only things that separate mankind from other animals is that we stand upright and wear clothing. Who are we to deny us love?"

"Love is for the weak minded!" spat Silas, "And once again, Henry, you've made a complete fool of yourself. Your plaything, Elaine Yates, she has no family, no pedigree, no lineage, nothing that would make her an acceptable queen."

"She has her magic," said Clare, "Elaine may probably be the strongest magic user of her generation. She's wise and possesses a just and caring heart. I personally think she'd make a great queen."

"So Elaine can use magic," said Silas, "So can I, so can every other person to some degree in Andalasia. That doesn't make a commoner good enough to rule this kingdom."

Throughout the meeting Elaine had been sitting next to Clare looking depressed as usual. But as Henry and Clare defended her, a change came over Elaine. Hinata noticed that Elaine's depressed expression morphed to one of embarrassment, to gratitude, to currently annoyance.

Elaine stood up, "I'm twice the magic user you'll ever be, Silas Dubois."

"You dare speak to me!!" snapped Silas, "You grimy, filth-encrusted wench!"

"I do dare!!" exclaimed Elaine, "Because despite your so called pedigree and connections, I'm still better than you, Silas. I know because I had to work hard to get where I am now; I worked hard to prove myself a worthy companion for Miss Clare. I've worked hard to prove myself worthy as a magic student, and I'll show my diploma to anyone who wishes to see it.

"But you, _Lord_ Silas," there was much sarcasm on the word 'Lord', "You've never had to work for anything in your life; you've had everything handed to you on a silver platter. I'll bet that you wormed your way through magic school. Tell me, how much did you bribe the instructors?"

"You insolent bitch!!" shouted Silas, "You'll pay for your lack of respect for your betters!!" He raised his right hand and began charging up a green fireball, while Elaine prepared to counter with a blue fireball of her own.

Hinata was quicker than both of them. She rushed over to Silas, channeled some Chakra to her fingertips, and pressed some key pressure points on his raised arm, cutting off the flow of magical energy.

"My arm!!" exclaimed Silas as his fireball dissipated, "What have you done to me!?"

"I've disabled your ability to channel energy through that arm," Hinata said, "Relax, it's only temporary, you'll have full use of your arm in a few hours. I can do much worse, like permanently depriving you of your powers, or worse, if you ever try anything like that again."

"Enough!!" shouted Joshua, "I will not allow violence in this assembly hall! We are here to discuss the coming crisis and prevent our kingdom from the wrath of Manos, not to fight over who can marry whom!"

"My King," said Richard Wallace, "I believe I have a solution to both problems. With your permission…"

"Speak, Lord Wallace," said Joshua.

"Thank you," said Richard Wallace, "I believe there is a way to satisfy everyone in this matter. If Henry can prove himself worthy as the next King of Andalasia, then he will have earned the right to marry whomever he chooses."

"And how do you suggest I prove myself, Lord Wallace?" Henry asked.

"It's quite simple actually," said Richard Wallace, "I suggest that we place Henry in charge of all matters concerning the defenses of the kingdom; the raising and training of our new army, the allocation of financial and material resources for the war efforts, and with the advice of Commander Howard and any available veteran, the planning of our defenses against the coming invasion. If Henry proves himself up to these tasks, then I see no reason why he should not be allowed to marry Elaine Yates."

"I concur," said Lucas Baxter, "If Henry can save Andalasia from the wrath of Manos, then he should marry the woman he loves, if only as a reward for his deeds." There were nods and murmurs of approval from the assembled nobles.

"What say you, Lord Silas?" Joshua asked.

"If Henry can save this kingdom from whatever Manos has in store," Silas said while shifting his contentious glare from Henry to Elaine, to Clare, to Hinata and back to Henry, "Then I'll be the first to congratulate him at his wedding."

"Then it is settled," said Joshua, "Henry, you have been given the task of defending Andalasia, do you accept?"

"I do accept," Henry said boldly, "I accept this task. I give my word of honor; Andalasia shall stand, and Manos shall fall!!"

The assembly erupted into rapturous applause and cheering, which unofficially ended the meeting. It was while everyone was congratulating Henry on his new charge, when Silas appeared in front of him.

"This is not over," Silas said, "Just because you've been given the chance, doesn't mean that you'll succeed. Manos has more than just men and magic on his side." With that he and his supporters exited the hall.

"What a _baka_," said Kiba, "He's gonna look so stupid when this is all over."

"It may not be over for a long time," Henry said, "By heaven and hell, what have I gotten myself into?"

"What had to be done," said Elaine, "It's the only way they'll let us be together."

"You two will be together," said Hinata, "We'll figure this all out, once Naruto and the others get here."

Meanwhile…

"Man, this is such a drag." Naruto and the others had boarded the first available train south that morning. Yet their journey to Andalasia was met with one delay after another. First the train stopped for no good reason. Then started up again, only to stop again. Finally, after about seven of these delays the train stopped and didn't start up again. They'd been waiting for nearly two hours, and were by now more than a little impatient, especially Shikamaru, "What's the point of having a schedule if they can't keep it?"

"Trains get delayed all the time," said Sakura, "The tracks could be damaged somewhere up ahead, or the locomotive could have broken down, or even a cow is sitting on the tracks."

"Yeah, well while that cow is sitting on the tracks," said Naruto, "Hinata is waiting for us. Every minute we wait is one minute less she and Andalasia don't have. She and her team needs us."

"We know, Naruto," said Sasuke, "But here we are, stuck waiting the damn train to get moving again."

"It's not gonna move any time soon," Ino said as she came running up, "I just spoke with the conductor. There's no cow on the tracks, it's much worse. The tracks have been sabotaged. Nearly all the rails for fifty miles have been cut and bent. It'll be days before the lines are repaired."

"Three guesses who the sabotages are," Sakura said…

"Manos," Naruto said, "Already I hate this guy."

"Well I for one do not intend to wait any longer!" said Rock Lee; "It would be quicker if we run to Andalasia."

"Run over 300 miles?!" said Chouji, "Are you insane!?"

"It really would be quicker," said Sakura, "It wouldn't be a problem to carry our equipment, and if we start now, we could reach Andraios before midmorning."

"Then what are we waiting for!?" said Naruto as he stretched for the upcoming run, "Let's get moving! Just make sure you can keep up with me!"

"Are you kidding!?" Ino asked, "I've been working on my Taijutsu lately, and I've improved my speed greatly. Prepare to eat my dust, Naruto!"

"You'll both be choking on my dust," said Sakura as she stretched, "Sasuke and I have also been working on running."

"If we're all going to be running against each other," said Tenten, "Let's make it more sporting. Whoever wins, everyone else has to buy dinner for the winner for a month."

Everyone then nodded in agreement of the bet. They then took starting positions along the tracks; Sakura said all they needed to do is keep heading south and they'll reach the capital of Andalasia.

"Ready!" said Tenten, "Steady!! GO!!" With that the nine young Shinobi dashed towards Andalasia.

The end of chapter 5.

Naruto: Finally! We're on our way! Look out Manos! We're coming for you!

Sakura: Wait a minute! We didn't hear what Lady Tsunade wanted to tell you.

Sasuke: That's right! What did she tell you, Naruto?

Naruto: Nothing that can't wait.

Sakura: Are you serious?!

AndrewK9000: If course he's serious. Nobody's gonna know what Tsunade told Naruto, not for another two chapters at least.

Sasuke: What makes you so special that you can decide who says what and when they say it?

AndrewK9000: I told you already, I'm the writer.

Sakura: I don't believe this.

Naruto: Well believe it, Sakura, we're stuck with him.

Tenten: Next chapter, 'The New Team Name'.

Ino: Extra portions of cake and pie for those who leave long reviews!

Chouji: Cake and pie! Yummy!!


	7. First Flashback

**First Flashback - Just after Sasuke was Captured**

It was early morning the next day, just past sunrise, as Naruto stood listening to Rock Lee making a fuss over the mission. "You did it, Naruto!" said old bushy brows, "Your plan was a success! You captured Sasuke!"

"I know," said Naruto. He and the others had made camp in a wide, open meadow a few miles from the quarry. Several tents had been set up. Several of the ninjas were standing guard around the tent in the middle of the camp, among them Shino, Shikamaru, Neji and Chouji.

"I have to say it again, Naruto!" exclaimed Rock Lee, "You did it! You truly are a splendid ninja!"

"Oh come on," said Naruto, blushing slightly, "It wasn't all me. Everyone had their part to play; I couldn't have done it alone. In fact, if Garra hadn't used that Jutsu at the last second, Sasuke would have probably gotten away."

"Yet it was you who hit Sasuke in that sensitive spot," said Garra, who was standing right behind Rock Lee and Naruto, whom were startled at Garra's sudden appearance.

"Do you have to do that!?" exclaimed Rock Lee, "For crying out loud! You've scared at least two years off my lifespan!"

"Only two years?" Kankuro asked in a teasing tone, "I was sure Garra would get a minimum of five."

"Boys," said Temari in a slightly annoyed voice, "They can be such brain-dead idiots."

"Uh…" said both Naruto and Rock Lee, both of them wondering whether or not to feel insulted.

"Anyway," said Kankuro, "us Sand Ninjas are about to head home, so unless you need us for anything else, we'll just be on our way."

"You're leaving already?" Naruto asked, "We were just about to have a celebration breakfast. Come on, there'll be ramen, lots and lots of ramen. Oh, I can just imagine it already! Beef ramen! Pork ramen! Chicken ramen! Vegetable ramen!! Seafood ramen!! Tofu ramen!!"

"I don't think so," said Temari, "All that ramen, so much carbohydrates. A girl's got to watch her figure after all."

"You sure you won't change your minds?" Rock Lee asked, "There'll also be eggs and bacon."

"I like eggs and bacon," Kankuro said in a longing voice.

"We really should be on our way," said the Kazekage, "Another time, perhaps."

"Well, if you insist," said Naruto as he held out his hand, "Goodbye, Garra of the Desert, and thank you."

"Farewell, Naruto Uzumaki," said Garra as he shook Naruto's hand, "May you always find water and shade."

"He means 'good luck,'" said Temari.

"I know," said Naruto, "And good luck to you as well."

"One more thing," said Garra, "When Sasuke regains consciousness, tell him that I wish him a swift recovery, and that I'll be waiting for a proper rematch. The same goes for you, Naruto Uzumaki."

"You got it!" Naruto said eagerly. He then bowed in respect to Garra and his siblings, as did Rock Lee. Garra, Temari and Kankuro bowed in return, then started out of the camp.

Yet they only got a few steps away when Rock Lee headed them off. "Forgive me for any impoliteness, Garra of the Desert, but I must know; why did you and your fellow Sand Shinobi agree to assist Naruto on this venture."

"We had our reasons," said Temari, "That should be enough for you."

"It's alright, Sister," Garra said, "I'm feeling better already."

"What are you saying?" Naruto asked.

"If you must know, ever since you saved Garra from the Akatsuki," said Kankuro, "he's been having increasingly frequent and painful bouts of heartburn."

"Heartburn?" both Naruto and Lee asked.

"The idea that I owe my life to anyone isn't a pleasant thought," said the Kazekage, "One that refuses to leave my mind. Do you have any idea what it's like to have acid indigestion nearly every day for over a year? Well, do you?"

"Um, no," said Naruto, "Not really."

"It isn't what you'd call a good time," Garra said, "That's for sure. Now, I can finally relax. My debt to you, Naruto Uzumaki, is paid, in full." With that he, Temari, Kankuro and the rest of the Sand Ninjas left the camp.

"Those guys still give the creeps," said Kiba as he and Akamaru walked up to Naruto and Rock Lee, "I sometimes have nightmares on what Shino, Hinata and I saw during stage 2 of the Chûnin exam." Akamaru barked in agreement.

"I'm still scared of Garra," said Naruto, "A little, but we respect each other, and in the end, respect is all that matters."

"On another note," said Rock Lee as the three young ninjas headed towards the tent where Sasuke lay unconscious, "You do realize, Naruto, that when we return home, there'll most likely be an angry mob out to lynch Sasuke. He made quite a few enemies when he defected."

"I already thought of that," said Naruto, "I sent a message to Granny Tsunade last night. By now she knows we captured and purged the curse mark from Sasuke. She'll make sure that no angry mob gets their hand on him."

It was then that Kiba suddenly laughed for nor particular reason. "What's so funny?" Naruto asked.

"I'm sorry," said Kiba after claming down from his sudden burst of humor, "But I can't help but think; it used to be that you would have never come up with such a deep plan. The years sure have changed you for the better, Naruto."

"Kiba," said Naruto, "Coming from you, that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me." In truth it took Naruto almost two months to come up with his plan, but what Kiba and everyone else didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

"So when are we going back to the village?" Rock Lee asked.

"After breakfast of course," said Naruto as they reached the tent, "Or after Sasuke wakes up, which should be any time now. Like I said, I plan to have a huge victory breakfast! I can't wait! So much ramen and so little time to eat!!"

"Some things never change," said Rock Lee as Naruto went into the large tent. Kiba and Akamaru nodded in agreement.

Inside Kakashi was sitting in a foldout chair next to a cot, where Sasuke lay unmoving. "He should be waking up any minute now," said Kakashi as he stood up, "I'll inform the others to break camp, we'll head out whenever you're ready, Naruto."

"Kakashi-Sensei," said Naruto, "I just want to say, thanks for standing by me. I don't think my plan would have been 'Okayed' if you hadn't supported it. Thank you."

"No problem," said Kakashi, "And anyway, it is you I should be thanking. You've surpassed my wildest expectations of you; you've really made this old man proud to have you as his student."

"Oh come on," said Naruto, "You're not that old."

"I'm getting there," said Kakashi, "Anyway, you did real good yesterday. By now the whole village knows what you did. You wanted respect; well, you've got it. You've made everyone proud, and I'm sure that The 3rd Hokage would be equally proud." With that he left the tent. _As would your father,_ thought Kakashi_._

Naruto then noticed that Sasuke was finally moving again. He sat down and waited for Sasuke to open his eyes. They slowly opened and blinked several times.

As Sasuke's vision came into focus, he realized that the one watching him was Naruto. "Hey," said Naruto.

"Hey yourself," said Sasuke.

"How do you feel?" Naruto asked.

"Actually, I feel pretty good," said Sasuke, "Very good." In fact, Sasuke was feeling the better than he had in a long time. Except for the dull ache in his groin.

"For fcks sake!" groaned Sasuke as he clutched at his groin, "Was that falcon punch really necessary?!"

"Sorry about that," said Naruto, "But really, you left me no choice. It was either that, or let Sakura…" he trailed off, as if wondering if he should be talking about what happened yesterday.

"Sakura!" exclaimed Sasuke, "Did I really try to kill her?" his voice was trembling with disbelief.

"You weren't yourself at the time," said Naruto, "That damn curse mark was controlling you, but it's gone now."

"But Sakura!!" exclaimed Sasuke, "Is she…!?"

"She's fine," said Naruto in a calming tone, "She won't be singing any high notes for a while, but she's alright."

It was then that Sakura came into the tent. She had an indigo colored scarf around her neck to hide the bruising from yesterday. "Sasuke," said Sakura, her voice was still a little raspy, "You're awake."

"See, Sakura," said Naruto, "I told you my plan would work! I promised I'd get Sasuke back for you, and here he is."

"Your plan may have caught Sasuke," said Sakura, "But I'm the one who discovered how to remove the curse mark. Now if you don't mind, I'd like a few minutes alone to talk with Sasuke."

"Okay," said Naruto. Just before leaving the tent, he paused, "Just where did you get that scarf anyway?"

"I '_borrowed'_ it from Ino," said Sakura, "She won't miss it. Now please leave, Naruto."

"Okay," said Naruto, "But play nice, you've both had a rough time." With that he left the tent.

"So," said Sakura as she sat down, "How do you feel?"

"Well aside from the fact that I won't he having children any time soon," said Sasuke, "Pretty darn good. But there's something else; deep down, I feel terrible. Sakura, I tried to kill you yesterday."

"It wasn't you, Sasuke," said Sakura, "The curse mark was controlling your mind."

"It was me in the beginning," said Sasuke, "I choose to abandon The Hidden Leaf Village and join forces with Orochimaru. I abandoned my friends. But the worse was what I did to you. You were willing to give up everything and come with me, but I pushed you away."

"Well now you can make up for it," said Sakura, "'Cause now that you're back to normal, I'm not letting you go."

"You deserve better than me," said Sasuke, "All this time you never gave up hope, even after all that I did to distance myself from you, all in order to kill my brother."

"Do you still wish to kill Itachi?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," said Sasuke, "What Itachi did was unforgivable, but I no longer feel driven by hate. Revenge doesn't seem as appealing as it did yesterday. But still…"

"But what?" interrupted Sakura.

"What I did was also unforgivable," said Sasuke, "made only worse because after all that I did, it is only now that I realize that I do love you, Sakura. I've loved you for as long as I've known you. I've just been so blinded by hate that I couldn't see it."

"That's all behind you now," said Sakura, "And for the record, I forgave you a long time ago. Now stop sulking; everything's gonna work out. Lady Tsunade assured me that you'll get a fair trial back in the village, and if I know Naruto, he's got something planned that'll make sure you walk away a free man."

"Naruto really has changed," said Sasuke, "He may just have what it takes to be Hokage one day. Sakura, do you really think that the two of us can have a future together?"

"I'd like to think," said Sakura, "That with hard work, dedication, and a little love," she took hold of his hand, "Anything is possible."

It was then that six years worth of emotions burst through the two young Shinobi. Their eyes full of joyful tears, they embraced.

"Sakura-Chan!"

"Sasuke-Kun!" And with that, they two star-crossed ninjas finally kissed.

Back outside, Naruto and everyone else was waiting with bated breath, while Neji and Hinata used their Byakugan to look through the tent side.

"Well?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"You should know, Naruto," said Neji, "I do not feel comfortable spying on Sakura and Sasuke in this matter. Not comfortable at all."

"Who cares how you're feeling!" snapped Chouji, "What's happening in there!?"

"They've finally kissed," said Hinata, "It's so beautiful."

"Yes!" exclaimed Naruto as he pumped his fist into the air.

"It's about time those two got together," said Ino.

"Why Ino-San," said Tenten, "I thought you'd be disappointed that Sasuke chose Sakura over you."

"I'm glad that they're together," said Ino, "It was stupid for Sakura and I to fight over Sasuke. I barely remember why we started fighting in the first place. As long as Sakura's finally happy, I'm happy."

"And I'm happy that Sasuke and Sakura are happy," said Naruto, "Anyway, let's eat and get moving."

"Um, Naruto, can I talk to you for a minute?" Hinata asked, "If you've got a minute that is."

"Sure," said Naruto, "I've got a minute, Hinata. Sasuke and Sakura aren't going anywhere for a while, so we can talk."

"Well… um," Hinata then rubbed her forefingers together in her usual shy manner, "What I want to say… what I mean is…well… I…I'm glad your plan worked; you saved Sasuke and removed the curse mark from him, and you got him and Sakura together. What I want to say is that I'm glad for your success, Naruto."

"Oh, it wasn't that big a deal," said Naruto. He then bent towards Hinata to whisper something, "Just between you and me, Hinata, I'm surprised it worked out so well."

"Well, I'm glad everything worked out," said Hinata, "You really are a great Shinobi, Naruto."

"Thanks, Hinata," said Naruto. He then turned to walk away.

"Naruto!" exclaimed Hinata.

"What is it, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

There was so much the pale-eyes girl wanted to say to him, yet her own self doubts interfered yet again. "Nothing," said Hinata, "It can wait."

"Okay," said Naruto. He turned around again and walked away.

As she watched him walk across the camp, Hinata silently cursed herself for her cowardliness. Yet she did manage to have a conversation with Naruto without fainting, that was progress. She could wait a little longer before expressing her feelings to Naruto. After all, patience has always been one of Hinata's stronger virtues.


	8. Chapter6: The New Team Name

**Chapter 6**

**The New Team Name**

It was early the next morning, when Shino, who was just coming back from a short run before dawn, saw Henry sparing with Kiba out on one of the balconies of the palace. Henry had a rapier in one hand and a dagger in the other, while Kiba had a kuni knife in each hand.

"Don't hold back, Kiba Inuzuka," Henry said as he tightened his grip on his blades, "Attack me as if this were for real."

"You sure?" Kiba asked, "I may end up really hurting you."

"I'm positive," Henry replied, "This is more than just an exorcise. My sister may have a crush on you, and my parents might approve, but you don't have my approval just yet. So attack me, if you dare."

"Oh I dare!" exclaimed Kiba. Before Henry could react, Kiba transferred his right-hand knife to the left hand, grabbed a small purple pellet out from his belt pouch and threw it at Henry. The pellet landed just in front of Henry. It exploded, filling the immediate area with purple smoke.

Unable to see anything beyond a yard or two, Henry was totally surprised when Kiba appeared out of nowhere and held both kuni blades at his throat.

"Is this real enough for you?" Kiba asked as the wind blew away the smoke. He removed the blades from Henry's throat, leaving two small spots of blood, nothing more than a pair of shaving cuts.

"If Natalie didn't like you," Henry said as she wiped the blood from his neck, "I'd have you arrested for attempted assassination. But it's my fault, I wanted to test myself, and apparently I failed."

"Don't say that," Kiba said, "You didn't know what I was going to do. Besides, if I had been a second or two slower, you would have blocked me. Isn't that right, Shino?"

"How did you know I was here?" Shino asked, "Oh, right, you can smell me. Regardless, Henry was about to react to your attack, Kiba."

"I was," Henry said, "I could tell that the smoke was just a distraction, and I was nearly ready to block your knives, Kiba. I'm usually a lot faster than I was just now, or so my instructors tell me. I'm just having a slow morning, I don't know why."

"I know why." There stood Queen Rachael. "You were up all night, Henry, working with Commander Howard, singing documents for the raising of the army. Henry, you know that if you don't get at least some sleep, your fighting skills begin to degrade. And now you're sparing. Listen to me, son, you've got to stop and rest for a while."

"I can't stop, Mother," Henry said, "The whole kingdom is counting on me."

"I know," said Rachael, "But what good will it do for the kingdom if you're not at the top of your game? I won't stand by and allow my firstborn son to burn his self out. You need to take care of yourself, take time to rest and refresh your mind and body."

"But…"

"No buts, Henry!" Rachael exclaimed, "I'm telling you, as both your mother and queen, get some rest. I don't want to see you anywhere near a pen or paper, or sparing, or any other strenuous activity, for the next eight hours! Do you hear me? Eight hours!!" With that she strode out of the room.

"Your mother," Shino said, "She's a unique individual."

"How did your father managed to get hooked up with such a catch?" Kiba asked.

"I really don't know," Henry said, "There's a lot about my mother that I never learned. From what my Father told me, he met my Mother while on a strange journey to a distant land; a land of metal and glass with buildings so tall they could scrape the sky."

"You can't scrape the sky," Kiba said in an unbelieving tone, "A building would need to be, like, a thousand feet tall and bigger, and you can't make buildings over a thousand feet tall."

"I wonder," said Shino as he gazed up at the clouds.

On another balcony Hinata and Clare were enjoying the early morning tranquility.

"Beautiful morning," Clare said, "If only there wasn't this feeling that it's all going to end soon."

"You shouldn't think like that, Clare-Chan," Hinata said, "We're going to save Andalasia. And let me remind you that I'll die before I let that madman Manos touch you."

"It's more than that, Hinata-Chan," Clare gazed off towards the north, "I'm also worried about me and Jacob."

"Don't worry," Hinata said, "Somehow we'll fix it so that you and Jacob can be together. I don't know exactly how we'll do it, but we'll do it."

"Everything seems to be against us," said Clare, "The rules say I must marry someone of noble blood, and the man I love is a commoner in the eyes of the law. The only way Henry and I can be with the ones we love is if we can defeat this impossible evil, an enemy so strong that only a miracle can defeat it." She sighed, "Why can't life be like a fairy tale, one where the ending is predetermined to be a happy one?"

"Clare-Chan," said Hinata, "If there's one thing my father taught me, it's that life isn't a fairy tail; sometimes evil wins, and happy endings aren't guaranteed. If you want a happy ending, you have to earn it."

"Then do you think that we can win?" Clare asked, "Can Jacob and I earn our happy ending? And what about Henry and Elaine? What about Andalasia? Can we get though this and live happily together?"

"I think," said Hinata, "That with hard work and dedication, anything is possible, or so says Rock Lee, and Guy-Sensei."

Just then Clare noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her gaze north to see first one approaching dust cloud, then another, then another. All together there were nine trails of dust coming from the north. "What is that?" Clare asked.

Hinata looked north, and with her Byakugan, saw nine familiar faces running towards the city. "That," said Hinata, smiling like crazy, "Is your miracle."

Naruto and his fellow runners had made excellent time to Andalasia, now they were less then two miles to the city gates. Currently Sasuke was in the lead, with Naruto in second place, followed by Rock Lee, Sakura, Ino, Neji, Shikamaru, Tenten, with Chouji bringing up the rear.

"There's the city!!" shouted Sakura, "That month of free dinner is mine!!" She then channeled more chakra to increase her speed, passing Naruto and Sasuke and taking the lead.

"I hate to ruin your confidence, Miss Sakura!!" said Lee, "But I shall be the one to win this contest!!"

_'The First Gate: Gate of Opening! Release!!'_

Free from mental inhibitions, Lee suddenly shot forward and was head of Sakura by nearly 10 strides. "Victory shall be mine!!"

_'I dedicate this victory to you, Guy-Sensei!! I shall win this race with the power of youth!!'_

"The final stretch!! CHARGE!!"

"That Bushy Brows has got to go down!!" shouted Naruto to Sasuke, "Let's take him!!" Sasuke nodded in agreement. They both channeled more chakra, increasing their speed. With that they passed Sakura and closed the distance on Lee. They were almost at the city gates when…

Hinata and Clare got down to the city entrance just as the nine runners crossed the gate, skidding to a halt and filling the area with a large cloud of dust.

"That was incredible," said Clare, "But who won?"

"GUY-SENSEI!!" exclaimed Rock Lee at the top of his lungs, "I DID IT!!"

"Sorry, Bushy-Brows," Naruto gasped, "But Sasuke and I tied."

"He's right," said Sakura between gasps of breath, "Sorry, Lee."

"Good race anyway," said Sasuke.

It was then, as the dust cleared, that Naruto noticed that Hinata was there. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," Hinata said back, "Did you really run all the way from the village?"

"Almost all the way," Naruto said, "So, Hinata, I hear that you've got a problem here in Andalasia."

"You'd better believe it," Hinata said, "Oh, this is Clare." Introductions were made. Just then Kiba, Shino and Henry came down; more introductions were made.

"So you're Naruto," said Henry, "You're taller than I thought you'd be."

"There you are!!" Storming out of the castle proper was Natalie, followed by Elaine, "Didn't mother just tell you to get some rest, Henry?"

"She did, Natalie," said Henry.

"Then why are you still up and about!?" Natalie snapped.

"Please calm down, Miss Natalie," Elaine said, "I'll take care of this. Henry, darling, I'm really sorry about this." She snapped her fingers, producing a small blue spark. Instantly, Henry fell to the ground.

"What did you do!?" Ino exclaimed.

"It's just a sleeping spell," said Elaine, "He's fine; Henry will be completely out for the next eight hours. He'll wake up feeling like a multimillionaire three times over."

"Elaine is a very promising magic user," said Hinata as two palace attendants carried Henry back inside the palace.

"Magic?" Naruto asked.

"I'll explain," said Hinata, "After we're all up to speed on the situation." With that everyone went inside. "Um, Naruto, after we're done talking, you think we can have some time to ourselves?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, "Oh, yes. Definitely."

"Business first," said Neji, "Pleasure later. We need to know everything that happened."

"Speaking of pleasure," Natalie said, "Kiba darling, I'll be waiting for you after your little parley." She winked at Kiba and went down a different corridor.

"What's that all about?" Chouji asked.

"Princess Natalie has, ahem, 'chosen' Sir Kiba as her new boyfriend," Elaine said.

"Really?" Tenten asked, "Kiba, that's so awesome! You're dating a princess!!"

"You lucky dog!" Rock Lee said, "No pun intended."

"Yeah, real lucky," said Kiba. In truth, Kiba wasn't sure what he felt towards Natalie. Things were moving a little too fast for him.

They found a large empty parlor. There, Hinata, Shino and Kiba brought Naruto and the others up to speed on the coming crisis in Andalasia. Naruto had already informed Clare and Hinata of the sabotaged train tracks, who then informed King Joshua. The King assured Naruto and the others that the rail lines would be up and running in less than three days.

"So now we've got this huge army massing to the west," Kiba said to Naruto and the others, "Led by this psycho wizard Manos. He wants Andalasia to completely surrender, or the whole kingdom will be destroyed."

"Meanwhile over here," Shino said, "Prince Henry has been given charge of organizing the kingdom's defense; raising a proper army, training it, supplying it and choosing somewhere where we can face the forces of Manos and defeat them."

"On a personal note," said Hinata, "The only way Henry can be with the girl he loves, Elaine, is if he can defeat Manos. The same goes for Clare; she wants to be with a commoner as well. And even worse, Manos wants Clare, her soul to be specific."

"Sounds like a real villain," Ino said, "This so called 'Dark Lord' enslaves entire nations and captures the souls of innocent girls, just to increase his powers.

"Sounds more like a demon," said Shikamaru, "No offense, Naruto."

"None taken," Naruto said, "So, what do we do?"

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"What do you mean what do I mean?" Naruto asked.

"Well you're in command of this mission," Sasuke said, "You're the one who's supposed to decide what to do."

"Wait a second!" Kiba said, "You're telling me that the 5th Hokage put Naruto in charge of the mission? Nothing personal, Naruto, but…"

"But what, Kiba?" Naruto asked, "You think I'm not smart enough to lead a mission?"

"No," said Kiba, "It's just that…"

"Just what?" Naruto asked.

"Well," Kiba said hesitantly, "Well, you are the Number One Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja of Konohagakure."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Naruto asked. "Sure I can be a bit of an baka sometimes, but that doesn't mean I'm not capable of leading a mission. I'm just saying that I'm open to suggestions."

"Well here's a suggestion," Sasuke said, "We need to figure out what Manos has planned. If he's gonna invade this kingdom, we need to know when and where he's intends to strike."

"We should also assist in preparing Andalasia for the coming invasion," Sakura said, "From what Hinata said, the people of the kingdom could easily be frightened into submission by Manos. I think we should be involved in the training of the army."

"That's good," said Naruto, "From what Granny Tsunade told me about Manos, the people of this kingdom are gonna need all the training they can get if they're gonna fight."

"You and Lady Tsunade were talking for a long time before we left the village," Sakura said, "What did she talk to you about?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Naruto said, "It was kind of personal. Anyway, what else can we do to help?"

"We should see what kind of medical resources the kingdom has," said Sakura, "'Cause in any conflict, there's gonna be casualties, both military and civilian."

"We also need to assess the kingdom's tactical resources," Shikamaru said, "What kind of weapons are available and what can me manufactured, in a rush if needed."

"Speaking of weaponry," Shino said, "What supplies did you bring with your from home?"

"Just whatever we could carry," Tenten said, "Some extra shuriken and kuni knives and our personal weapons, and one or two things I've been working on."

"Most importantly," said Sasuke, "We all have our Jutsus; Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Taijutsu."

"I volunteer to help train the new army recruits in hand to hand combat!!" Rock Lee said eagerly.

"That's good, Bushy Brows," Naruto said, "This is all good stuff, but we're gonna need more, a lot more, believe it."

"You really ought to thankful that we're friends, Naruto," said Sakura, "You really should get on your knees and thank Kami for my foresight. Before we left the village, I requested additional supplies. They'll be delivered on the next train from home, once the tracks are repaired. I've a list of what I ordered," she checked her pockets, "Wait, where's my list?"

"Don't you remember what you wrote down?" Ino asked.

"I wrote it all down so I wouldn't have to remember it," said Sakura.

"I've got it," Neji said as he pulled out a small scroll, "You dropped it on the run south. You should feel lucky that I saw it and picked it up."

"Oh," said Sakura sheepishly, "Sorry, Neji, and thank you."

"No problem," said Neji as he unrolled the scroll, "You requested several crates of medical supplies; including bandages, antibiotics, burn salves, pain killers, yards of suture silk, and various healing herbs. You also asked for blueprints and materials for constructing various siege and anti-siege equipment."

"I remember now," Sakura said, "I also asked for twenty crates of blank scrolls, ten gallons of special ink for preparing explosive tags, forty kegs of gunpowder and sixty crates of dynamite."

"Sixty crates!?" exclaimed Kiba, "You really think we're gonna need that much dynamite?!"

"I doubt we'll really have use for all that explosives," Sakura, "But I'd rather be safe than sorry. And don't worry, it's all being shipped in specially insulates containers. It'll get here safe and sound."

"I'm not concerned about our supplies getting here," Neji said. Indeed, what really worried him was the dynamite itself; in his mind, there's nothing more helpless, depraved and irresponsible, than a group of young Shinobi with large quantities of dynamite, and Neji suspected that he and his friends would have use for the dynamite before too long.

"I just realized something," Naruto said, "We're gonna need a team name. If we're all gonna work together, we'll need a name."

"Forgive me for interrupting," said Clare, "But is this really relevant to the current situation? I mean, what's in a name?"

"Naruto's has a point," Rock Lee said "This is the first time all twelve of us are all on the same mission, we should have a proper team name."

"I agree," said Shino, "We should have a name for the twelve of us, so that history should remember our involvement in the coming crisis, something that will be remembered long after our time on this world is finished."

"It needs to be catchy," said Naruto, "Something really cool sounding. Anybody got an idea? 'Cause I've got nothing."

"'Super Awesome Ninjas Forever!'" Chouji said eagerly.

"'The Dirty Dozen,'" Ino suggested.

"I think that's been used," Sakura said.

"Okay," said Ino, "How about 'The Heroic Dozen'?"

"No," said Kiba, "Akamaru's as much a part of the team as I am, so we're counting him in, so that'll make thirteen."

"'The Heroic Bakers Dozen'?" Ino suggested. Naruto, Sakura and everyone else sighed in annoyance.

"'The League of Extraordinary Shinobi,'" said Tenten.

"'Super Awesome Ninjas Forever!'" Chouji said.

"'The League of Youthful Extraordinary Shinobi,'" said Rock Lee.

"Too much of a mouthful," said Naruto, "It's got to be easy to remember."

"'Super Awesome Ninjas Forever!'" Chouji said again.

"Will you shut up about that!" snapped Ino, "We're not calling ourselves 'Super Awesome Ninjas Forever,' it sounds like a cheap Saturday morning cartoon."

"You're just jealous that my name sounds cooler than yours!" spat Chouji.

The room erupted into a heated argument on whose team name sounded cooler.

"QUIET!!" shouted Shino. Everyone who was arguing fell silent at Shino's sudden outburst, "Give the man some room to think." While everyone else was quarreling over their idea of a cool name, Shikamaru had assumed his thinking posture, the same hand position he used whenever he was deciding over his next chess move or whenever he was in a tight spot in the field.

Finally he spoke: "Everyone in this group is driven by their individual dream. Most of us share the basics of one particular dream; to be all that we can be and more. Some of us have higher dreams, but the important thing is that we all have a dream worth reaching for, and we're willing to fight for that dream. So, it's only natural that our team name should be 'The Fighting Dreamers.'"

"'The Fighting Dreamers,'" said Naruto, testing how the name sounded.

"I like it," said Sakura, "It's identifiable."

"It's not something anyone would likely forget," said Ino.

"And it had a definite ring of coolness," said Chouji.

"'The Fighting Dreamers,'" said Neji, "There's a name that will be remembered for ages to come."

"It does sound like the name for a group of heroes," said Hinata, "And that's just what this kingdom needs, heroes."

"I know I'm not part of your team," said Clare, "But I want to say that I like it."

"I like it too," said Kiba, "What about you, Akamaru?"

'I think it sounds groovy,' Akamaru said in his manner, which Kiba translated for the others.

"If Akamaru likes it," said Shino, "Then I like it."

"Same here," said Shikamaru.

"Then let's vote on it," said Naruto, "all those in favor of adopting 'The Fighting Dreamers' as our official team name, raise your hand." Twelve hands, and one paw, went up in the air. "That settles it, from now on, our team name is 'The Fighting Dreamers.'"

"Let's make it official," said Sakura. She took out a blank scroll, unrolled it and wrote:

_On this day, (insert date), we Shinobi of The Hidden Leaf Village, do pledge a mutual bond of friendship and fellowship, and that from now on, we shall go by the name 'The Fighting Dreamers.'_

Everyone then signed his or her names on the scroll:

_Naruto Uzumaki_

_Sasuke Uchiha_

_Sakura Haruno_

_Ino Yamanaka_

_Shikamaru Nara_

_Chouji Akimichi_

_Hinata Huyga_

_Shino Aburame_

_Kiba Inuzuka_ (Akamaru then put his paw print next to Kiba's name)

_Neji Huyga_

_Tenten_

_Rock Lee_

_Witnessed by_

_Lady Clare Rachuba, Grand Duchess of Andalasia_

_Elaine Yates, Personal Assistant to Clare Rachuba_

"This is so awesome," said Chouji.

"Look out, Manos," Naruto said, "The Fighting Dreamers are here, believe it!!"

**The end of chapter 6.**

Naruto: Alright!! We've got a cool name for the team!!

Sasuke: Well that's all we've really done this chapter. There's still a lot to do.

Sakura: Next chapter we begin preparing Andalasia for war.

Naruto: And, I finally get to tell what Granny Tsunade told me.

Ino: Finally!! I'd thought we'd never know.

AndrewK9000: Sorry, Ino, but Naruto's going to tell only one person what he and Tsunade talked about, and that person isn't you.

Ino: What!?

Chouji: Who's it going to be?

AndrewK9000: That's my secret. You'll just have to wait and read the chapter along with everyone else.

Ino: Can't you give us a hint?

AndrewK9000: No can do, it'll spoil the surprise.

Rock Lee: Next chapter, 'Beyond The Point Of No Return.'

Kiba: Be sure to leave lots of reviews!

Akamaru: Bark!! (Right!!)


	9. Chapter7: Beyond the Point of no Return

**Chapter 7: Beyond The Point Of No Return**

It was three days until the emissary of Manos was scheduled to return. Word had spread throughout Andalasia that not only had Manos returned, but was also massing an enormous army, whose purpose was to destroy the kingdom. Naturally there was panic among the people, but the news that Prince Henry was leading the defenses of the kingdom, the panic wasn't as severe as feared. When the call for volunteers went out, there were plenty of men and women willing to defend their kingdom, knowing that their Prince would be there to lead them.

"More than twice as many volunteers as expected," said Henry as he looked out on one of the hastily assembled training camps, where the new recruits had begun being drilled into fighting shape.

"They're all fine men and women," said Commander Howard, "There's no denying their courage. But the enemy we're facing is a battle hardened war machine; an army whose numbers, I'm sad to report, are now over 80,000 and rapidly growing."

"Things are not as bleak as they appear," said Neji, "A host that size can only travel as fast as its supply lines can keep up with them. And they're still over a thousand miles away from the western borders. We've time to get the new recruits into shape."

"Leave that to us," said Tenten, "Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji are down there right now."

"Look at them," said Shikamaru as he, Chouji and Ino observed the volunteers go through basic training, "Hardly any discipline. I doubt that half of these people have ever seen a proper weapon, let alone used one. This is such a drag."

"We've gout our work cut out for us, boys," Ino said.

"I've a feeling I'm going to enjoy this," Chouji said eagerly.

They approached a group of new soldiers, whom were in-between exorcises at the time. The unit's drill instructor saw the three Shinobi approach, and shouted "Attention!!" The new soldiers did straighten up and formed proper ranks, but they took their time about it.

"Listen up, maggots!" said Chouji in a stern tone, "And listen good! My name is Chouji Akimichi of the Akimichi Clan. My associates and I from the Hidden Leaf Village, have been asked to whip you into fighting shape, and by heaven and hell, we're gonna do it!

"To start with, the first and last things out of your disgusting mouths will be 'Sir,' and you will address myself, my associates or whoever is instructing you at the time, regardless of age and or gender as such. Do you understand?"

"Sir, yes sir," said the massed recruits.

"I can't here you!" snapped Chouji, "Sound off like you mean it!!"

"Sir, yes sir!!"

"Better," said Chouji, "We'll work on that. Now, the enemy, while still a long ways from this kingdom, can and probably will attack without warning. You must be prepared to handle the stress of war. You will be pushed to your physical and mental limits and beyond. It will not be a pleasant experience, and not everyone will make the cut. But for those whom do, they will be transformed into a fighting force to be reckoned with.

"One thing to remember; there will be no favoritism. I don't give a crap about who you were before joining this army. I don't care if you were a farmer, a carpenter, a blacksmith, a baker or an outhouse cleaner. To me you're all equally worthless.

"However, there will be no discrimination. My fellow Shinobi and I don't look down on anyone because of their family heritage, their religion, their ideals or whatnot. Again, you're all equally worthless, that is, until proven otherwise. Do you hear me, you apes!?"

"Sir, yes sir!!"

"Good," Chouji said, "Now, not just anyone can be a soldier. Our job is to weed out those who can handle the job of being a real soldier, from those who can't. To do that, my comrades and I must be hard, very hard, and because we must be hard you will not like us. But I promise you this, the more you hate me and my friends, the more you will learn. Understand, maggots!?"

"Sir, yes sir!!"

"Good," said Chouji, "Another thing to remember, from now on you'll live and work as a team, as one. You'll train the same way, receive the same lessons and eat the same food."

From somewhere in the ranks somebody called out, "Bet he gets double portions, the fatso."

"Uh oh," said Ino, "Big mistake."

"Idiot," said Shikamaru. If there's one thing that grinds Chouji's gears, it's when somebody makes fun of his weight.

"Who said that!?" demanded Chouji, "Who the hell said that!? Who's the monkey humping, toad licking bastard who just signed their own death warrant!?" Chouji's accusation was met with silence. "Nobody said it, huh? A f#ckng ghost is the culprit, huh!? Well, that's just great! Instead of punishing one grunt for insubordination, I'll have to punish the whole lot of you !! I'll have you running laps until you all throw up! And when you're done throwing up, I'll run you some more! Unless, that is, the guilty scumbag comes forward and spares his or her comrades any unpleasantness."

About three quarters of the way down the ranks one particular recruit stepped forward, "Sir, I said it, sir!" he said.

"Did you now," said Chouji as he moved toward the offending soldier, "Tell me, is there something humorous that you find about my weight?! Well, is there!? Speak up, soldier, we're all waiting to here what you have to say about me!"

"Sir!" said the recruit, "There's nothing humorous about your weight! I was wrong to comment on said topic, sir!"

"What's your name, ape?" Chouji asked.

"Sir, Private Phillip Roth, sir!"

"Well, Private Roth," said Chouji, "I'll admit that I admire your honesty. You're also showing loyalty to your comrades, I also like that about you," he smiled, "Hell, I like you so much, you can come over to my house and fool around with my mother any time you want."

Without any warning, Chouji punched the recruit square in the belly. Roth grunted in pain and crumpled to the ground.

"Listen up, scumbag!" Chouji said as he bent down so Roth could hear him, "From now on, I own you!! Know what that means?!"

"Sir, no sir!" gasped Roth.

"It means," said Chouji, "That I'm gonna turn you into one of the best soldiers this kingdom is ever gonna see. I'm gonna make an example out of you that other soldiers will be begging to follow! It means, Private Roth, that from now on I will not accept any malarkey of any kind from you. You will not laugh or cry; you will learn by example, now get on your feet!!"

"I think Chouji is taking this a bit too far," Ino whispered to Shikamaru.

"He's fine," said Shikamaru, "When Chouji is done, he'll have the finest army Andalasia has ever seen."

"This is your one warning, you disgusting sack of pig vomit!" said Chouji as Roth struggled to stand up, "You had best get your head in gear, or I will rip it off and shove it up your ass! Do you understand!!"

"Sir, yes sir!!" shouted Roth.

Back in the observation post, Clare and Hinata were observing the new recruits being terrorized. "Your friend Chouji," said Clare, "He's nuts!"

"Chouji-San is as sane as you and I, Clare-Chan," said Hinata, "He's just eager."

"My apologies," said Clare, "Your other friend, Rock Lee, now he's nuts!"

"Now that I have to agree," said Hinata.

On another part of the training ground, Rock Lee was putting his batch of recruits through his version of paces. Each new soldier under Lee's supervision was wearing weighted wristbands, leg weights and a weighted vest, all in all about 50lbs.

"The first thing one must understand about Martial Arts," Lee said as he led his unit through calisthenics, "Is that one shouldn't fight just for the sake of fighting. If one learns Martial Arts just so he or she can learn how to beat someone up, then that person is little better than an animal. Hand to hand combat should be a last resort when words fail, and only as a means to protect oneself, or those whom are precious to you."

"He'll have every soldier he instructs in the hospital by the end of the week," Henry said, "I mean, what is Rock Lee thinking? Forcing his unit to wear so much extra weight, it's inhuman!"

"Lee is just weeding out the ones who aren't really soldiers," said Tenten, "As we all are."

"Learning how to march in formation and follow orders, doesn't make one a soldier," said Neji, "Those who cannot handle the horrors of war are no better than cannon fodder."

"I know that," said Henry, "But that doesn't give us the right to treat these people like crap. If you and your friends keep this up, there'll be a hundred dropouts a day."

"Good," said Neji, "That'll be one hundred less people needlessly slaughtered. Look, Henry, you may find our methods cruel and unusual, but I promise you, when we're done, you'll have the best army you and Andalasia can hope for. I swear on my father's grave, you will have the best."

"I'll hold you to that," said Henry.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Neji said.

"Your cousin has this really thought through," said Clare.

"It's his Nindo to think things through," Hinata said. It was then that she saw Naruto walking towards the palace, "Excuse me."

She caught up with Naruto at one of the many gardens, he was sitting on a stone bench, a look of deep contemplation on his face.

"Naruto-Kun," said Hinata.

"Oh, Hinata-Chan," said Naruto, "I didn't notice you there."

"Something's bothering you, Naruto-Kun," Hinata said as she sat next to him, "Want to talk about it?"

"It's not bothering me," said Naruto, "But I do feel that I need to talk to someone about it. Before coming here to Andalasia, Granny Tsunade, I mean, the 5th Hokage, she told me something, something that she and a lot of other Shinobi from our village was sworn to secrecy, but it was something Lady Hokage needed to tell me, something I had to know."

"What was it?" Hinata asked.

"Hinata-Chan," said Naruto, "What do you know about the 4th Hokage? Other than that he sealed away the 9-Tailed Fox demon."

"Only what we all learned about him in school," Hinata answered, "That his name was Yondamie, and that he was so powerful a ninja that enemy Shinobi were ordered to run away from him on sight. He created several original Ninjutsu's, including the Rasengan."

"Whom he taught to Pervy Sage Jiraiya," said Naruto, "Whom then taught it to me. But what was kept secret from our generation of Shinobi, what was sworn to secret since the night the 9-Tailed Fox demon attacked the Hidden Leaf Village, was that the 4th Hokage's full name was Minato Namikaze. He was married to a Kunoichi from The Hidden Whirlpool Village. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki, my mother."

"Your mother?" Hinata asked, "Then that must mean…"

"Yes," Naruto said, "The 4th Hokage was my father."

"Oh, Naruto-Kun," Hinata said in a sympathetic tone, "You must be so angry. Your own father condemned you to years of suffering and misery, just to seal up a dangerous demon."

"I'm not angry at all," Naruto said, "In fact, I feel great. Don't you see what this means, Hinata-Chan? Now I know I'm meant to be Hokage one day. I mean, Tsuande's grandfather was the 1st Hokage, now she's the 5th. My father was the 4th, so that means I'm gonna be either the 6th or 7th Hokage."

"But your father sealed the 9-Tailed Fox demon inside you," Hinata said, "Aren't you even a bit angry about that? Don't you want to know why he did it?"

"Well, from what Tsunade told me," Naruto said, "My father meant to seal the demon inside his own body, but for some reason something went wrong and the demon went inside me. I'm not angry with my father at all, because before he died from Chakra exhaustion, he asked the village elders to make sure I was raised with kindness and understanding, that I was to be treated as a normal kid, not just as a vessel for the demon.

"We both know what happened. The village elders were so afraid of the 9-Tailed Fox, that they saw me as an incarnation of the demon. They're the ones who made me suffer as everyone in the village either ignored me or treated me like dirt. If there's anyone I should be angry at, it's the village elders. But I'll show them; when I'm Hokage, I'll fire the lot of them and replace them with those I trust."

"Like Sasuke and Sakura," Hinata said.

"And Shikamaru," Naruto said, "And Chouji, Ino, Neji, Tenten, and especially Bushy Brows, he'll defiantly want to be on the new council."

"What about Kiba and Shino?" Hinata asked.

"Them too," Naruto said, "If it's what they want. But what about you, Hinata-Chan, what do you want?"

"Just to be with you, Naruto-Kun," Hinata said, "And to help make your dream a reality. That's my dream, and I'll do everything I can to make our dreams come true."

"Shikamaru was right to name our team The Fighting Dreamers," Naruto said.

"That emissary from Manos will be back soon," Hinata asked as they both watched the sun set, "Naruto, do you really think we can win this?"

"I hope so," said Naruto, "We've come too far on our Shinobi paths to just have it all end at the hands of some mad wizard who steals the souls of innocent girls. We'll beat him, believe it."

"You know what?" Hinata asked, "Just hearing you say it makes me believe it." With that they kissed in the light of the setting sun.

…Three Days Later…

The seconds ticked away before the return of Manos' emissary. Everyone was gathered in the ballroom, the tall glass doors open to allow the breeze in from the gardens.

"I can't do this," Henry said, his voice heavy with frustration, "I'm gonna tell Father that just can't do it."

"You can't be serious," Naruto said, "You're chickening out now!?"

"You think I don't want to tell Manos and his messenger to go to hell?" Henry asked, "Believe me, I really want to do it, I just don't know what to say; words fail me at times of stress. I'm much better at fighting."

"It's true," Elaine said, "Whenever Henry gets really anxious, his words fail to reach his tongue. Some people trip over their words, Henry collapses like a condemned building."

"You don't have to be so graphic, Elaine," Henry said.

"Relax," Sasuke said, "I'll talk to the emissary."

"You will?" Henry asked, "Thanks, Sasuke, you're a real friend."

"It's no big deal," Sasuke said.

The appointed time arrived. With a flash of evil purple light, the emissary appeared as promised. With him this time were twelve dark ninjas, all of them displaying the Black Hand and purple outline of their forehead protectors.

"Well, Joshua," said the hooded emissary, "Have you come to a decision?"

"I've decided to let my son decide," King Joshua said, "Myself and the ruling council has left this matter in his hands."

"And I," Henry said, "Have decided to allow another to speak for me in this matter. On the advice of my friends and councilors, I defer to Sasuke Uchiha."

The emissary glared at Sasuke, "I was under the impression that the Uchiha clan was extinct."

"I'm the last one," Sasuke said, "Before we discuss Andalasia, I want to know what Manos' intentions are for the Hidden Leaf village and all the other Shinobi Villages."

"Of course," said the emissary. With that he and Sasuke walked out onto the gardens. The intruder's guards followed, while Naruto and the others also followed.

"The true master of the world was prepared to form a non-aggression pact with the various Shinobi Villages," the emissary said, "but that was before the debauchery of last week's Ball, when your friends, Hinata Huyga, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame, attacked and killed six of The Dark Lord's servants. The punishment for such a transgression should be death for the interlopers and the destruction of their homes and families.

"However, the true master of the world has his moments of forgiveness. He is prepared to exonerate the three young Shinobi for their sacrilege. All the three young ones have to do is present themselves to The Dark Lord Manos, submit to His will and declare Him their new god, while delivering a token sample of Earth and Water from The Hidden Leaf Village, and all will be forgiven."

"'Earth and Water,'" Naruto said, "What does he mean by that?"

"It's a polite way of saying that your village should submit while they have the chance," Clare said, "It's an ultimatum."

By now Sasuke and the emissary had reached the middle of the gardens. About three meters from where they stood was a huge well that has been roped off to prevent people from falling in. The well was about ten meters in diameter and over 1,000 feet deep, or so said Henry.

"And now to tweak the circumstances a bit," said Malicious. All this time the two Shinigami had been watching events unfold in Andalasia, waiting for an opportunity to make things more interesting. The Shinigami took his Death Note from his belt clasp, opened to a blank page, brought out his pen and began writing.

"Who are you going to kill?" Talon asked, "And how will it be done?"

"Just watch," Malicious said, "You'll find this quite interesting." He finished writing the cause and time of death for his intended victim and closed his Death Note.

"There's a problem with your master's offer," Sasuke said, "You see, we Shinobi have bad habits of freedom and justice. Your master, Manos, he represents everything we Leaf Village Shinobi stand against. And of course, there's our reputation of stubbornness in the face of tyranny and oppression."

"Choose your next words carefully, Sasuke Uchiha," the emissary said, "They may decide the fate of more than one civilization."

Sasuke sighed; he looked around at his friends, familiar and newly acquainted. His eyes met Henry's, who then nodded, as if to say 'whatever you're going to do, I'm with you.'

Sasuke then reached to scratch the back of his neck, but transferred the movement to draw his sword, and held the point less than an inch from the emissary's throat.

"Madman!!" exclaimed the emissary, while Naruto and the others drew their weapons and disarmed the dozen dark ninjas, "You're a madman!!"

"'Earth and Water,'" Sasuke said as his friends led the disarmed dark ninjas over to the edge of the well, "You'll find plenty of that down there."

"Fool!!" shouted the emissary, "No one harms a messenger! Nobody! Not ever!! That is the law!!"

"What the hell do you know of law!?" Chouji snapped, "You come to this kingdom uninvited and spoil what was supposed to be a happy occasion! You demand that an innocent girl allow herself to be dragged off to have her soul taken by an inhuman lunatic! You threaten the people of this land with slavery and death!! Oh we've chosen our words very carefully, slave of Manos. Perhaps you should have done the same!"

"Damn right!!" exclaimed Ino, while everyone else nodded in agreement.

"This is blasphemy!!" exclaimed the emissary, "This is madness!!"

At this point Naruto placed his hand on Sasuke's sword arm. The two long-time rivals turned friends looked at each other in silent conversation. After a few seconds Sasuke lowered his sword. The emissary breathed in relief, believing himself to be spared an unpleasant death.

"'Madness' you say," Naruto said, "'Madness.' WE ARE SHINOBI!!" and just like that (insert fingers napping sound) he kicked the emissary into the well. The dozen dark ninjas soon followed their screaming master as Sakura, Shikamaru and the others slashed the dark ninja's throats and pushed them into the well.

"That's that then," Shikamaru said after the last dark ninja was pushed into the well, "We're beyond the point of no return."

"You were right," Talon said to Malicious, "That was interesting. The humans have no idea that you influenced them just now."

"I did nothing to the Shinobi," Malicious said, "The Death Note can influence the actions of the intended victim to a certain degree, but has very little sway over other humans. Look at what I wrote," he opened his Death Note to the last written entry. The real name of the emissary was written in the language of the Shinigami, underneath was written 'Kicked into a well.'

"It was blind chance that decided that the blond Shinobi would kill the emissary," Malicious said, "All I did was set the stage. The rest was up to the humans."

"That's all well and grand," said Talon, "No pun intended. Next time I get to use my Death Note to, 'tweak the circumstances,' as you put it."

"That's fine by me," said Malicious, "We'll both have plenty of opportunities to add names, for this drama is far from over."

…One thousand and seventeen miles west of Andalasia…twenty minutes later…

Far from the capital of Andalasia, far beyond the kingdom's western borders, a monster was growing. This was no monster in terms of fangs, claws and extra limbs. Rather, this was a monster of swords, spears, arrows, gunpowder, cannons, and most of all, thousands upon thousands of wicked men hell-bent on a single purpose; to wipe out all hope for reason and justice in the world.

Right in the middle of this massive monster a black tent was pitched. Emanating from this tent was a black cloud that seemed to suck the light from the area, casting the army into constant night. Just outside the entrance to the tent was a thirty-foot flagpole which flew the standard for the army; a black hand with a purple outline.

Inside this tent sat a man wearing a black robe; the hood was up so that his face was cast in shadow. He watched a fire burning with purple flames, emitting black smoke. Scattered throughout the tent were hundreds of clear crystals that seemed to have something stuck in them, like an insect trapped in fossilized amber. Closer inspection would show the trapped objects seemed to glow with a strange light.

An officer wearing black armor entered the tent, the Black Hand insignia displayed as a broach securing his purple cloak. "Pardon my intrusion, Lord Manos," said the officer, "But we've received word from our spies in Andalasia."

"I already know," said the hooded man, "My former homeland has chosen the way of pain. The fools, they've violated one of the most important rules of diplomacy; 'Don't kill the messenger.'"

"There's more, Master," said the officer, "King Joshua has placed his son, Henry, in charge of the defenses of Andalasia."

"Again, I already know this," said Manos, "I also know that the foolish prince has hired twelve ninjas. This works to my advantage, for when Andalasia bows before me, the young fools who dared to interfere in matters that do not concern them, their deaths shall serve as an example to the five Shinobi nations. The Hands of Fate have condemned them all."

"So shall it be done, Lord Manos," said the officer, "Forgive my inquiry, but how do you know this?"

"I have my sources," said Manos, "There are those in Andalasia who are intelligent enough to realize that their true master is approaching."

"Is there anything that you wish of me to do, Master?" the officer asked.

"Send for Francine," said Manos, "I have a task for her."

"As you command, Master." The officer bowed and left the tent. A minute or so later a girl entered the tent. She was about 18 or 19 years old, dressed in black and purple mage robes and carried a black staff. She had short black hair and brown eyes that were heavily bloodshot.

"You ask of me, Lord Manos?" the girl asked.

"Francine," said Manos, "The fools in Andalasia refuse to submit. They obviously do not understand the meaning of fear."

"Then they must be taught how to fear," said Francine eagerly, "They and the whole world must be instructed to fear and worship their true master."

"Enthusiastic as always, Francine," said Manos, "This is your task: Take your Marauders ahead of the army and infiltrate Andalasia. There, you are to kill and destroy at your will. Show no pity or remorse, no compassion, no leniency. Instruct Andalasia in the fate of all who dare to resist me. When the pathetic residents of that wretched kingdom have been properly terrorized, I and the rest of the army shall join you. There we shall bolster our ranks and march north to the Shinobi nations."

"You honor me with this task, Master," said Francine, "I shall not fail you." She bowed and prepared to exit the tent.

"One more thing, Francine," said Manos, "The girl, Clare Rachuba, bring her to me alive and unspoiled. Her soul shall make a fitting addition to my collection." He indicated the crystals with their trapped lights.

"It shall be done, Lord Manos," said Francine. She bowed again and left the tent.

"Yes," said Manos as he admired his collection of trapped souls, "Clare would make a fine addition indeed."

The end of chapter 7.

Naruto: And I thought Orochimaru was crazy, but that Manos guy is nuts, believe it!!

Sasuke: We've really got our hands full this time, and things are only going to get worse.

Shikamaru: How can things get any worse?

AndrewK9000: Believe me, things can and will get worse.

Ino: And how do you know that?

AndrewK9000: I keep telling you, I'm the writer.

Sakura: Don't antagonize him, he can take you out of the story in a heartbeat.

Shikamaru: Whatever, this whole thing is a drag anyway.

Hinata: Next chapter, 'The True Purpose of Power.'

Kiba: Be sure to leave plenty of great reviews!

Akamaru: Bark! (Right!)


	10. Chapter 8: The True Propose of Power

**Chapter 8: The True Propose of Power**

"That's that then," Shikamaru said after the last dark ninja was pushed into the well, "We're beyond the point of no return."

"Let's hope there's light at the end of the passage," said Shino.

"Was that really necessary, Naruto?" Henry asked, "Did you really have to kick that man into the well?"

"Yeah, it was," Naruto answered frankly.

"I just want to say," said Elaine, "That your actions just now did little to help Andalasia. Without a doubt, Manos has eyes and ears in the kingdom. By dispatching his emissary, your actions will only result in aggravating the enemy."

"If you're saying that I've made Manos mad," said Naruto, "Then yes."

"We want Manos to be mad," said Sakura, "If he's angry, then the chances of him making a mistake increase. Manos thinks himself to be a god, that he's invincible. Well, we'll just see about that."

"We're going to prove that Manos isn't invincible," said Sasuke, "That he can't expect to take over the world unopposed. And most of all, we're going to prove that even self claimed gods can bleed."

Just then Shino's insect-like instincts warned him that something rotten was approaching.

"We've got trouble," said Shino, "He's back." Two seconds later Silas Dubois entered the garden.

"Oh not him again!" moaned Kiba, "This guy doesn't know when to quit."

"Is that the guy who wanted to sell out your friend Clare?" Naruto asked Hinata.

"That's him, alright," Hinata said, "He's got trouble written all over his rat face."

"What happened?" Silas asked, "Where is the emissary from Manos?"

"He had to leave," said Naruto, "He suffered a traumatizing fall." This caused a stir of giggles from Kiba, Chouji, Ino, Tenten, Rock Lee and Hinata, while Sasuke, Sakura and Neji sighed in annoyance.

"I beg your pardon?" said Silas, "And just who are you?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, Shinobi extraordinaire and future Hokage of The Hidden Leaf Village. Who the hell are you?"

"You will refer to me as Lord Silas!" he exclaimed, "And I do not take kindly to insolence from a Shinobi barbarian! Now, tell me, where is Manos' emissary!?"

"Alright already," said Naruto in a slightly exasperated tone, "You don't have to be such a flat liner. The man you're looking for, he's at the bottom of that well over there, probably a squishy mess of meat and bone by now."

"You cannot be serious!!" exclaimed Silas, "Do you realized what you've done!? You've doomed us all!!"

"And if Naruto hadn't kicked Manos' slave into the well," said Henry, "What would you have done, Silas? If you think I will stand by and allow you to make agreements with that lunatic Manos, you're wrong."

"You can't negotiate with the likes of Manos," said Chouji, "Or anyone who only offers slavery and death as an option. Believe me, it's better this way."

"I don't need a Shinobi savage telling me how to conduct my affairs!!" snapped Silas, "Especially you, you bloated sack of proto-plasum!!"

"Huh?" asked a confused Chouji.

"He just called you fat," Ino said.

"Oh," said Chouji, "Well then…Partial Expansion Jutsu!!" Quick as lightning, Chouji rushed over to Silas, increased the size of his right arm, picked Silas up, threw him over to the well, ran to the edge of the well and caught Silas by the ankle before he fell into the pit. All this occurred in less than five seconds.

"You uncivilized freak!!" exclaimed Silas, "Unhand me at once!!

"Get this straight, man!!" Chouji spat, "I don't like it when people make fun of me or call me names!!"

"Chouji don't!!" said Henry. He was about run towards the well, but Shikamaru stopped him. He gave Henry a look that said to let Chouji do what had to be done.

"Put me down!!" snapped Silas, "Put me down, you inbred swine!!"

"As you wish," said Chouji. He returned his arm to normal size, allowing his grip on Silas' ankle to slip.

"No!!" shouted Silas as he realized that Chouji was going to let him fall into the well, "Don't put me down!! Don't put me down!!"

"You know what," said Chouji, "Since we've already disposed of one piece of trash, I think I'll get rid of this one as well."

"That's enough!!" shouted Henry, "Chouji, put him down, on the ground! Please, this isn't the way."

"Just do it, dude," said Kiba, "As much as I hate to say it, it's not worth it."

"Whatever," said Chouji as he tossed Silas onto the ground.

"This outrage will not go unpunished," Silas said coldly as he got off the ground, "You shall all suffer for this humiliation!!"

"Whatever," said Naruto, "Look, our job is to help Andalasia get ready to defend against Manos, and even though we didn't sign up for it, we're also here to protect the kingdom from creeps like you; you who would use an innocent girl as a bargaining chip. You disgust me!"

"And you need to learn how to respect your betters!!" hissed Silas, "This is not over!!" With that he hurried back into the palace proper.

"Lord Silas!" said Joshua just before the creep left the garden.

"Yes, my King," said Silas in an oily tone, "How may I be of service?"

"You can serve me by leaving my home," said Joshua, "And not return unless called upon. Just because you're on the ruling council, doesn't give you free run of my house. You are to return to your family lands and remain there until the present crisis has abated."

"I do protest, your majesty!!" Silas snapped.

"Protest all you like!" said Joshua, "I have tolerated you and your perverted ways for far too long! As King, I hereby order you to leave the capital at once!!"

"And as Crowned Prince," said Henry, "And commander of the kingdom's defenses, I hereby amend my father's order. Silas Dubois, you are to never see or speak with my sister again! If you come within 300 feet of Natalie, I'll personally cut your heart out. Now get lost!!"

"This is not over!!" snapped Silas as he ran back inside.

"And get a new vocabulary while you're at it!" Henry shouted after him.

"Nice touch," said Naruto.

"Thanks," said Henry, "So, now what?"

"We keep going as planned," said Sasuke, "We continue training the new army and prepare for defense."

"Let's hope Manos doesn't here about what we just did," said Sakura, "At least not yet."

Outside the palace Silas had entered his private coach and was being driven back to his lands. As he sat fuming over the humiliation inflicted upon him, Silas reached into his pocket and pulled out what at first glance appeared to be a small hand mirror set into a round piece of obsidian. Carved onto the back was a shape of a hand with a purple outline. The reflective glass was filled with black smoke.

"Lord Manos," Silas said into the mirror, "I have news to report."

…four days later…

"Here is where we stand," Neji said as he read from a list. It was agreed earlier that Neji would handle the majority of the logistics. "Andalasia has a permanent armed force of 10,000 infantry, most of them Royal Guards and various law enforcement officers. With the new recruits, that number has been bolstered to roughly 35,000."

"Not much of an army," Shikamaru said, "Considering what we're up against. This is such a drag." Reports from the west were unclear as to the exact number, but suggests that the enemy horde has swelled to over 95,000 and still growing.

"Still," Rock Lee said, "We've managed to triple Andalasia's armed forces in less than two weeks. Another three or four weeks and we'll have them wiped into shape."

"Assuming any survive your training methods," Henry said.

"Those who survive the curriculum will be the best army this kingdom has ever seen," Chouji said, "I guarantee it."

"Moving on," Neji said, "A census of the horse population reveals that there are approximately 8,000 horses fit for Calvary duty."

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of volunteers for Calvary," Henry said.

"Cannons," Neji said, "While there are very few cannons in working condition in Andalasia, the kingdom has the manufacturing capability to produce several dozen new cannons a day, once production gets started."

"We'll get that started right now," Henry said as he drafted a letter to begin cannon production, "What about gunpowder?"

"Aside from what we had shipped from the Hidden Leaf Village," Neji said, "We can always have more made. There's plenty of charcoal and sulfur waiting to be mined, and we can always manufacture potassium nitrate."

There was a few seconds of silence as Naruto and the others sat confused. "Saltpeter," Neji said in an annoyed tone, "Honestly, didn't anyone here, other than myself, pay attention in Basic Chemistry?"

"Chemistry was such a drag," Shikamaru said, "I mostly doodled in my textbooks."

"I made paper dolls out of mine," Ino said.

"I made those little fortune telling things," Chouji said, "You know, where you have to say a color then a number."

"You don't want to know what I did with my textbooks," Kiba said.

"Why do I have the dreadful feeling that I'm in over my head with you people?" Henry asked, "Neji here seems to be the only one taking this seriously."

"We are taking this seriously," Naruto said, "We're just making things less tense."

"You really should lighten up, Henry," Sakura said, "You won't do Andalasia any good if you're all burned out from stress."

Henry started to retort, "Well, I…" but he was interrupted when one of the palace servants brought him a message, a message marked 'Super Urgent!'

"What's it say?" Sasuke said.

"How's this for stressful," Henry said in a grave tone, "Two villages near the western border have been attacked by unidentified brigands."

Using the fastest steeds in the palace stables Henry and several Palace Guards rode west to the attacked villages. Naruto, Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru ran with them as well. They were rushing to one of the villages, while another group was checking out the other, this one with Sakura, Sasuke, Neji, Tenten and Rock Lee.

The village Henry and his group arrived at was completely destroyed; all the buildings burned to piles of charred wood. There were dead bodies all over the place. Men, women and children, all were slain. Some of them were stabbed in the heart, some burned to ashes, some were hanged from street poles, and others were cut into pieces. It seemed that whoever was responsible made sure that nobody was left alive.

"I'm gonna be sick!" Hinata exclaimed. She doubled over and threw up breakfast.

"Who could have done this?" a shocked and appalled Henry asked while Naruto made sure that Hinata was all right.

"Who do you think did it?!" Kiba said as he picked up something from the street; a piece of round obsidian with a purple outlined hand carved into one side.

"It would seem, Naruto," Shino said, "That your actions four days ago has attracted the attention of Manos."

"So you're saying this is my fault, Shino!?" Naruto snapped as Hinata finished throwing up.

"It's all Manos' fault!" Kiba said, "He's the one who ordered this atrocity, I know it!"

Just then one of the Palace Guards pointed out something; a large trail of dust approaching coming up the road that lead to the other village that was attacked.

"You think they're coming back?" Naruto asked.

"Well if they are," Henry said grimly as he drew his sword, "They're in for a reception they'll never forget!"

"Damn right!!" Kiba agreed as he pulled out several shuriken.

"Wait!" Hinata said as she stood up, her Byakugan eyes locked in on the approaching dust trail, "It's alright, what's making that dust is friendly."

As the dust trail got closer, Naruto and the others could finally make out what was stirring up the road; a certain green spandex-wearing Shinobi.

"Bushy-Brows!!" Naruto said as Rock Lee skidded to a halt in the middle of the ruined village.

"So it's the same here as well," Rock Lee said, apparently not out of breath at all, considering that he just ran several miles at top speed.

"You mean…?" Hinata asked.

"Yes," Rock Lee said in a slightly depressed tone, "The other village was completely destroyed. Every citizen was slaughtered; every man, woman and child, they're all dead. Wait, that's not true, we found one survivor, a little boy. His whole family was burned alive."

"F#ck me around the world!" Kiba exclaimed.

"What about the child?" Henry asked earnestly, "Is he alright?"

"He's alive," Rock Lee said, "He hid in the nearby woods when the attack started. When Sakura asked him what happened, all the boy said was 'It's quiet now, they came through the blackness,' then he passed out. Oh, before I forget, Sasuke found this in one of the burned houses." He pulled out something black from his belt pouch and tossed it to Henry; an identical obsidian disk with the symbol of Manos on it.

"Manos," Henry said grimly. He spat on the disk, threw it onto the ground and broke it with the heal of his boot.

"Hey guys!!" Kiba shouted from the far edge of the ruined village, "Akamaru's picked up the scent of the bandits!"

"Which way did they go?!" Henry asked as he, Naruto and the others hurried over to Kiba.

"Down this road," Kiba said, "North by northwest. The bastards covered their tracks pretty well, but their scent is still strong. If we hurry we can catch them!!"

"We'd better catch them," Henry said, "There's another village 5 miles from here."

"Bushy-Brows!" Naruto said, "Hurry back to Sasuke and the others; tell them that we've gone ahead."

"No problem!" Rock Lee said eagerly, "We'll catch up in no time!!" With that he 'zoomed' back the way he came, leaving an even larger dust trail than before.

"That Rock Lee is quite possibly the most extraordinary man I've ever encountered," Henry said.

"Tell me about it," Naruto said.

They had only gotten about four miles when Kiba and Akamaru smelled smoke. Hinata used her Byakugan to see the remaining distance ahead to the next village.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, "They're attacking the villagers!"

They ran the rest of the way as fast as they could. Naruto and his group arrived at the village to find total chaos: Buildings and houses were burning, while panicking villagers were being chassed down and slaughtered by hooded bandits riding black horses. Some of the brigands carried rune staffs, while others wielded black colored axes.

"Slay them all!!" shouted one of the bandits, obviously the leader, "Leave no one alive, destroy it all!!"

"You bastards!" Henry shouted, "Why are you doing this!? Why?! Why, damn you!!"

"We do as The Dark Lord Manos commands," the lead brigand said, "And the word of Lord Manos is law."

"So you are working for that psychopath!" Kiba said, "All the more reason for us to kick your sorry asses!!"

"Silence fool!!" the lead brigand shouted, "Thou shall not speak the name of the true master of the world in vain! The power of The Dark Lord shall crush you into dust!"

"I think not!" Hinata said boldly, "Your master obviously doesn't know what power really is all about." She untied her neckerchief, which held her forehead protector; "One should not use power to hurt others, nor they themselves in that manner." She then placed her forehead protector on her forehead, **(sorry if that sounds lame)**.

"Instead, power should be used to defend the innocent and protect the helpless," she began tying cloth, "That is my Nindo; the Shinobi code by which I live my life by," she finished tying, then assumed a defensive fighting posture, "However, it doesn't apply to those who lack honor and discipline, such as you!"

"Who gives a sht about honor and discipline?!" the lead bandit asked, "Not me!" He aimed his staff slightly to the left of Hinata. There, a few yards away, were three young children, crouching in terror at all the chaos around them.

"I'll show you what power is all about!!" the lead bandit shouted. He fired a stream of dark magic at the children.

"Gentile Fist Style!" Hinata said as she rushed in front of the incoming blast, "8 Protective Trigrams! 64-Palm Shield!" Her hands, charged by intensely focused chakra, created a fast moving shield that blocked the dark magic blast.

"Lucky block!" the lead brigand snapped, "But let's see if you can do that again!"

"Let's not!" Out of nowhere came Naruto, delivering a bone-shattering right hook to the head of the lead bandit. Another bandit tried to slash Naruto with his axe, but only hit empty air as the Shadow Clone burst into smoke. Another Shadow Clone of Naruto quickly dispatched the bandit.

"Are the kids alright?" the real Naruto asked Hinata as several more Shadow Clones took care of the remaining bandits.

"They're fine," Hinata said, "We need to help find their parents."

"Naruto!" Kiba said, "There doesn't seem to be any more bandits here. I think we're about done."

Just then there came a cold, cruel laugh from the roof of one of the houses. There stood a girl in her late teens, dressed in black and purple mage robes and carried a black staff. She had short black hair and brown yes that were heavily bloodshot. Around her neck was a medallion displaying the purple-outlined black hand of Manos.

"Not bad," the girl said in a sarcastic tone, "Not bad at all."

"Who are you?" Hinata asked.

"I am merely a servant of the true master of the world," the girl said, "But you can call me Francine."

"You're responsible for the atrocities inflicted on these people," Kiba said, "Aren't you!"

"Guilty as charged," Francine said in a disturbingly cheerful tone, "I am the commander of The Dark Lord's Marauders. Our mission is to prepare the way for the coming of the true master of the world. What we've done here today is but a taste of things to come. The kingdom of Andalasia needs to learn what fear is, and my friends and I are the teachers."

"Well you obviously need an education yourself," Naruto said, "We just took care of your Marauders!"

"If you believe that by slaying a mere dozen brigands will stop us," Francine said, "Then you must truly be a fool. I have hundreds of riders at my command, not to mention a few tricks of my own to play."

"And what kind of tricks are that?" Kiba asked.

"This for example," Francine said gleefully. She raised her staff into the air and chanted a few words that Naruto couldn't understand.

The air above the village crackled with dark magic as a swirling purple rift appeared and disgorged something from some horrible alternate universe. The creature that appeared looked to be a 15-foot tall grizzly bear with four eyes and octopus tentacles on its back.

"I'll leave you fools to play with my pet," Francine said, an evil grin on her face, "See you later, assuming you survive!" Cackling madly, Francine vanished.

The summoned monster let out an ear-piercing roar and began smashing houses left and right.

"Oh no you don't!" Henry shouted as he ran from the other side of the village. Drawing his sword again he charged at the beast. Having attracted the monster's attention, Henry slashed and hacked off two of the creature's tentacles, before being picked up by a third tentacle and thrown into a pile of rubble.

"I'm alright!" Henry said as Shino and Naruto helped him up, "Damn! Whoever said that killing monsters would be easy should be flogged."

"It's only easy in fairy tales and manga," Shino said.

"Well we can't just let that thing run amuck," Hinata said as the monster continued its rampage. The remaining Shadow Clones tried attacking the beast from all sides, but they were all destroyed in seconds.

"I know we can't let it run lose," Henry said, "But it's a lot tougher than it looks. I'm open to suggestions."

"Just keep that thing busy for thirty seconds," Naruto said, "I'll take care of the rest."

"A lot can happen in thirty seconds," Shino said.

"I can do a lot in thirty seconds," Kiba said, "Right, Akamaru?"

'Right!' Akamaru barked.

Making the appropriate hand signs, Kiba then cast a Genjutsu on Akamaru, "Transform!" turning Akamaru into an exact duplicate of himself.

"Let's do it, Akamaru!" The real Kiba said, "Double Wolf Fang!!" The two Kiba's launched themselves at the monster.

"Thirty seconds, Naruto," Henry said, "Better get started."

"Right!" Naruto said, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Henry expected several copies of Naruto, but instead there was only one. He was puzzled at what Naruto was doing. Naruto had one hand outstretched, while the clone batted his hands back and forth around the outstretched hand. A sphere of swirling blue chakra began to form in the real Naruto's hand.

Kiba and the transformed Akamaru had their paws full keeping the monster distracted, while avoiding the creature's writhing tentacles.

"Kiba!" Naruto shouted as the clone finished what he was doing, the sphere of chakra reached the desired size, "Get out of the way!"

"Rodger!" Kiba said. He and Akamaru jumped away from the monster, the Genjutsu on Akamaru dissipating, returning the nin-dog to his normal shape.

"What's Naruto doing?" Henry asked.

"Something very cool," Hinata said.

"Here we go!" the clone of Naruto said as he picked up the real Naruto, "Fastball Special!" the clone threw the real one at the monster, and then disappeared.

"Take this!!" Naruto shouted, the chakra ball in his hand aimed at the monster, "Rasengan!!"

**RasenganSpiral Ball**

The chakra ball impacted in the torso of the monster. It roared as the force of the spinning chakra forced it off balance before the sphere exploded. When the dust cleared, the monster wasn't moving.

"And that's how a Shinobi kills a monster!" Naruto said, "Believe it!"

"I don't believe it," Henry said.

"Huh?" Naruto said, "What are you talking about!? I killed the monster."

"No you didn't!!" Henry shouted, "Look!!"

Indeed, the creature had just picked itself up from the ground, apparently un-phased by Naruto's Rasengan attack. Fresh tentacles were sprouting from its back, and it was looking madder than ever.

"You were saying?" Kiba asked sarcastically.

"Oh go suck an egg!" Naruto spat, after forming another Shadow Clone and began charging up another Rasengan, "I'll get it this time!" Yet Naruto didn't get the chance. Before he was finished charging up for a Rasengan, the monster grabbed him and the Shadow Clone with it's tentacles. The creature threw both Naruto's at a nearby pile of rubble. The Shadow Clone was destroyed on impact, and the real Naruto landed hard on his side.

"Naruto!!" Hinata shouted as she ran to the ruined building to help Naruto.

"I'm alright," Naruto said as Hinata helped clear the rubble from around him. Yet they were both shocked to find a large fragment of wood sticking out from Naruto's right forearm.

"Pull it out, Hinata," Naruto said.

"No," Hinata said, "I might make things worse."

"How can it be worse?" Naruto asked, "It doesn't really hurt, but I can't fight with this thing stuck in my arm."

The monster, meanwhile, was still running amuck in the village streets. Kiba and Akamaru, along with Shino and his chakra beetles, were doing their best to keep the creature from destroying any more of the village. Henry and the Palace Guards were waiting for their chance to get behind the out of control beast.

"You're not doing any more fighting today," Hinata said sternly, "Not until we get your arm taken care of."

"Just pull it out," Naruto insisted, "I can heal it myself."

"I said no," Hinata said, "If I pull it out, a wood splinter could break off and become stuck inside your arm after you heal yourself. I may not know as much about Medicine as Lady Tsunade, but I know it isn't a good thing to have a wood splinter lodged inside one's body. No, Naruto, we're gonna wait for Sakura and the others to show up."

Hinata then noticed something from the road from which she and the others came, "You don't have to wait long, Naruto."

About half a mile back up the road, Sakura, Sasuke, Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten and the other Palace Guards were hurrying to reach the village. They stopped when Sakura sensed something up ahead.

"By the gods!!" one of the Palace Guards exclaimed as he looked through a spyglass at the ruined village ahead, "What is that abomination!?"

"Something unnatural," Neji said while viewing the village with his Byakugan. "Kiba, Shino and Henry are doing all that they can to stop this creature, but their best may not be enough."

"What about Naruto and Hinata?" Rock Lee asked.

"I see them," Sasuke said after activating his Sharingan, "Hinata's fine; Naruto's hurt, but it doesn't look bad."

"Even so," Sakura said as she checked that she had her emergency medical kit, "The sooner I take a look at it, the better."

"I hate to be a flat liner," Tenten said, "But what about that monster?"

"Leave the monster to me," Sasuke said. He made the appropriate hand signs and began channeling chakra into his left hand. Within seconds the amount of chakra Sasuke had built up was so intense, it could be seen by the naked eye as large blue bolts of static electricity jolting out from his hand. The intense chakra concentration was producing an audible sound, like hundreds of birds chirping at once.

When Kakashi-sensei first taught Sasuke this particular Ninjutsu before the final stage of the Chûnin exam six years ago, Sasuke could only use it two times a day. Any attempts to use it a third time carried the danger of death, or worse, activating the curse mark.

But now that the curse mark has been removed, and after months of intense chakra training, Sasuke can use this technique an average of five or six times a day without endangering himself.

"Look's like Sasuke is about to make his move," Hinata said as she watched with her Byakugan.

"Shino! Kiba! Henry!" Naruto called out, "Get out of the way!!"

"All clear!" Neji said as he saw through his Byakugan that the path to the creature was free of any innocent bystanders.

"Now!!" Sasuke said. He then charged strait at the monster, using the half mile distance to the village to build up as much speed as possible, all the while his hand was alive with chakra.

Finally he entered the village, still running at top speed, his hand now outstretched and aiming for the monster's torso.

"Chidori!!" Sasuke shouted just as his palm slammed into the monster, producing a huge explosion of released chakra.

**Chidori1000 Birds**

When the smoke cleared from the explosion, Sasuke was standing unharmed, while the monster was thrown back several dozen yards up the street.

"Sasuke!!" Sakura shouted as she, Rock Lee and the others caught up.

"I'm fine," Sasuke said, "Check on Naruto."

"I'm fine, Sakura," Naruto insisted as Sakura examined his punctured arm, "Just pull it out already."

"You're not fine," Sakura said, "We've got to do this right. If I were to just yank it out, as you're suggesting, some of the wood could get stuck inside you, leading to infection later."

"Told you so!" Hinata said.

"Whatever!" Naruto pouted, "Just get this stick out of me!"

Yet before Sakura could do anything, an ear-shattering roar sounded from down the street.

"You have got to be shttng me!!" Kiba exclaimed as the monster began to get back up again.

"Can't anything kill this beast!?" Rock Lee asked.

Just then Henry, seeing an opportunity, started running towards the monster before the beast could fully righted itself. Drawing his sword as he ran, Henry used a large slanted piece of masonry as a ramp for a extra long jump at the creature. Reaching even height with the beast, Henry swung his sword and beheaded the monster. He landed on the other side of the street as the monster fell to the ground, this time dead for sure. The beast's body then dissolved into an unearthly green liquid that was soon evaporated, leaving a green stain on the street.

"That's how Andalasians kill monsters," Henry said as he sheathed his sword.

"Impressive," Neji said.

"Very impressive," Kiba said.

"It should be noted," Shino said, "That should we encounter any more of these summoned beasts, that removal of the head is the best way to dispose of them."

"Wait, 'summoned'?" Sasuke asked, "Who summoned that creature?"

"Some girl named Francine," Naruto said as Sakura began to extract the wood shard, "She said she works for Manos. Ow!! Sakura!?"

"Just hold still, Naruto," Sakura said as she finished pulling the shard out, "I still have to check to see if there's any splinters stuck inside your arm."

"You said the girl's name was Francine?" Henry asked.

"That's right," Naruto said, "You heard her, right?"

"I was preoccupied helping people escape from burning houses," Henry said, "Anyway, what did she look like?"

Naruto and Hinata then described Francine, "You know her?"

"Not personally," Henry said, "But Elaine does. Oh boy, is she gonna be pissed."

**The end of chapter 8.**

Naruto: Okay, we just faced a monster that my Rasengan couldn't kill, what's up with that?

Sasuke: And just who is this Francine?

Andrewk9000: You'll find out more about her soon enough.

Naruto: You can be really annoying sometimes, you know that?

Andrewk9000: It's a risk that comes with being a writer.

Sakura: Next chapter, 'An Old Rival, A New Enemy.'

Ino: Be sure to leave plenty of reviews!


	11. Chapter 9: An Old Rival, A New Enemy

**Chapter 9: An Old Rival, A New Enemy**

It was mid-afternoon when Naruto, Henry, Sasuke and their groups made it back to the capital and explained the situation to Hinata, Clare, Elaine and the others.

"She just waved that staff of hers," Kiba said, "And that thing appeared out of nowhere, what a mess."

"That monster took everything we had and spat it right back at us," Sasuke said, "My Chidori barely scratched it."

"And my Rasengan didn't do a damn thing," Naruto said, "Believe it. Henry was the one who really deserves to be called a hero."

"Cutting the head off of a monster is easy," Henry said, "When it's just one to contend with. If that Francine had summoned more, we may not be here having the same discussion."

"Francine?" Elaine asked, "Are you sure that's her name? Are you absolutely positive!?"

"It could have been an alias," Shino said. He then described the woman they faced earlier.

"It's here alright," Elaine said, her voice heavy with concern, "Francine, there's a name I hoped I would never hear again."

"Who's this Francine?" Hinata asked, "And how do you know her?"

"Her full name is Francine Kyler," said Elaine, "We were roommates at magic school. Like me, Francine had no family and had no knowledge of her family lineage. But where as Miss Clare paid for my studies, Francine won a scholarship in a lottery, but not before spending nearly her whole life working as a dishwasher in several inns.

"The two of us became rivals during the first day of school. Both of us kept pushing ourselves to outdo the other and be the best we could be. Over time Francine and I became friends, but we were never close. She kept to her self a lot during her free time. When she wasn't studying, Francine was by herself working on various 'secret projects,' as she called them. I was naturally curious as to what Francine was up to, but as the weeks and months passed, the curriculum became more and more demanding, so I didn't pester her about her after hours activities.

"Then about a month before graduation I finally learned what Francine was doing on her own. The school staff caught Francine practicing forbidden magic, as well as partaking in unethical and inhumane experiments. Naturally she was expelled, and that was the last anyone has seen or heard of Francine Kyler, until now."

"Well It's obvious that your former roommate had turned to evil," Shino said.

"Well duh!!" Naruto said, "we both were there!"

"I can only imagine how you're feeling, Elaine," Henry said, "Knowing that your friend has joined the dark side, it must be horrible."

"Actually," Elaine said in a casual tone, "I'm not that much surprised that Francine turned out this way. Like i said, we were never close friends, and I always got the feeling that there was something wrong with her; she always struck me as somewhat unstable. She was quick to study, but always wanted more; more knowledge, more power. Eventually she got so far ahead of the curriculum, the instructors had to take action. I tried to warn her, that patience and moderation were essential; she wouldn't listen to me. But what eludes me is how she got involved with Manos."

"Who cares?" Naruto asked, "She's a crazy witch that needs to be stopped before anyone else gets hurt."

"And you think you're gonna do it?" Kiba asked, "You couldn't even kill that monster she summoned."

"Err…um…" Naruto said, "I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I'll think of something."

"Well you better think of something soon," said Henry just after he was delivered a message by one of the palace servants, "Another two villages were just attacked."

The next couple of days were full of bad news and more bad news. One village after another was attacked by the insidious Francine and her diabolical Marauders, and our heroes were powerless to stop her. By the time word had reached Naruto and the others, it was too late for them to do anything except look for survivors among the ruined villages.

"This is getting out of hand," Henry said as he, Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Elaine saw the devastation of the latest attack. Neji and Tenten were searching for survivors among the destroyed buildings, while Sakura helped heal those wounded.

"Things have been out of hand for a while now, Henry," said Sasuke, "It seems that Manos is going to get what he wants. It won't be long before everyone in Andalasia is afraid of these Marauders. By the time Manos and his horde arrive, the people of this kingdom will be too afraid to fight."

"That'll be the day!" Chouji exclaimed, "We've put too much effort in getting the people of Andalasia ready to fight. I'm not gonna let some dumb bimbo scare my troops into submission! Hell no!"

"Well this dumb bimbo as you call her," Shikamaru said, "She's done a pretty good job so far. What we need, is to devise a way of tracking the movements of the Marauders, and, arrive at their targets before they get there."

"And how do you suggest we do that, Shikamaru?" Henry asked, "There's no way we can predict where Francine and her minions will attack next. And how can we manage to cover every potential target?"

"Didn't the 4th Hokage have a special technique?" Sasuke asked, "One that allowed him to teleport anywhere he wished?"

"That's right!" Sakura said, "The 'Flying Thunder God Jutsu.' That technique was what made the 4th Hokage so frightening to his enemies. Unfortunately, the 4th Hokage took the secret of his Jutsu to the grave."

It was then that Naruto had one of his rare but brilliant ideas. "We beat them at their own game."

"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"Magic," Naruto said, "Francine can use it, so why don't we use magic to track her movements?"

"Of course!" Elaine exclaimed, "Of course! I've several books on scrying back home!"

"Mind cluing us in?" Chouji asked, "For those who don't know jack about magic."

"Scrying is just one of many means of locating an object or a person," Elaine explained, "Basically all you need is a map and a scrying tool, and we've just what we need back at the palace."

"That's good," Sasuke said, "But how are we going to catch up with Francine and her minions once we find them?"

"Leave that to me as well," Elaine said confidently, "I'll take care of everything."

A short time later Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke stood with Henry in the Royal Library, while Elaine pondered over a large, highly detailed, three-dimensional map of Andalasia. Elaine had on her right hand a glove with a large red gem set into the palm. She was walking around the map with her gloved hand extended.

"Okay," Sakura said, "I understand that she's using that glove thingy to locate Francine, and that she's using a picture of Francine from an old yearbook as a reference. But when we do find her, and that's a when, not an if, how are we going to catch up with them before they destroy another village?"

"When you mentioned that your 4th Hokage could teleport," Elaine said as she continued to move around the map, "It got me thinking. Any competent magic user is more than capable of teleporting him or herself. But how do you go about teleporting a large group of a dozen or so?

"The answer is simple; a teleportation scroll can do the job. All that is needed is a few feet of parchment and a bottle of ink. Once you write down the necessary spell, you're ready to go. But once you use the scroll, you have to make another one."

"We figured that," Sasuke said, "So now what?"

"Now," Henry said, "We wait."

"For what?" Naruto asked.

"Scrying isn't an exact art," Henry said, "Sometimes it takes a while to find what it is that you're looking for. But we may not have to wait for long, Elaine knows what she's doing."

"So, Henry," Sakura said, deciding to make conversation while they waited, "What was it that attracted you and Elaine together?"

"You shouldn't ask such things in public," Sasuke said, "Especially when Elaine could hear you."

"It's alright," Henry said, "Elaine is in what she calls 'her zone.' You could fire a cannon off in here and you wouldn't break her concentration. That's one thing I love about Elaine, once she starts something, be it a spell or a game, she always sees it through to the end."

"That's sweet," Sakura said.

"Whish someone had that kind of concentration," Sasuke said.

"Huh?" Naruto asked as he looked up from his cup of instant ramen, "You say something, Sasuke?"

"Never mind, Naruto," an annoyed Sasuke said, "Just go back to your little ramen filled world."

"It's a miracle that Lady Tsunade promoted him to Chûnin without taking the exam over again," Sakura said, "But enough about Naruto. Please continue, Henry."

"Well," Henry said, "Elaine and I both like classical opera, and ballroom dancing. It was my sister who taught us both how to dance. Let's see, what else?"

"If it's too personal," Sasuke said.

"Not all," Henry said, "But there are so many things, I just don't know what's the most I love about her. Let's see, um, I love that she loves magic. I could never even dream of achieving even a fifth of what Elaine is capable of doing."

"She's that powerful?" Sasuke asked.

"Elaine was top of her graduating class at magic school," Henry said, "Some say that she has the potential to become the most powerful magic user in the kingdom. But Elaine doesn't care about having power for the sake of power. She practices her art because it makes her happy. I guess growing up an orphan, one makes due with what they can, and Elaine can work wonders."

"If you think she's good," Naruto said, "Wait until you see what I can do, believe it."

"I think I've got something!!" Elaine said as her hand hovered the western part of the map, "I think…yes!! I've found you, you bitch!!"

"You've found Francine!" Sakura said.

"Yes" Elaine said, "I know exactly where she and her minions are going to next."

"Perfect," Sasuke said, "We'll get everybody together, and you can teleport us there."

"Um…err…" said a distressed looking Elaine.

"Is something wrong, Elaine?" Sakura asked.

"There might be a little problem with that," Elaine said, "You see, in my eagerness to locate Francine, I kind of forgotten to prepare a teleportation scroll, and since it takes over an hour to prepare one, I sincerely doubt that we'll find one already made in time."

"You got to be kidding me!!" Naruto exclaimed. He then glared at Henry, "You said that she knew what she was doing!!"

"Don't go blaming Elaine for this!!" Henry shouted, "It's not her fault! Well, it kind of is, but that's beside the point!"

"Shouting won't get us anywhere," Sasuke said as he looked at where Elaine located Francine on the map, "If I'm reading this right, Francine and her minions will reach their target in less than half and hour. By the time we can get someone out there from the capital, it'll be too late."

"Wait a minute!" Sakura said, "I think Hinata, Shino and Kiba are in that area. They went to establish a supply depot. In fact," she got a closer look at the map, "The village they're in is the same one Francine and her Marauders are heading for."

"Is there any way we can get a message to Hinata in time?" Naruto asked.

"Absolutely," Elaine said, "I can send a telepathic message to her in the blink of an eye. The best part is that it'll be you talking, Naruto, she'll hear your words in her mind. The only drawback is that the message will have to be short, no more than 25 words."

"Why only 25 words?" Sakura asked.

"It's too complicated to explain right now," Elaine said, "You ready, Naruto?"

"Just give me a second," Naruto said, "I need to think about this."

"In that case why bother," Sasuke muttered.

"I'm serious!" Naruto exclaimed, "How can I pack such an important message into only 25 words?"

"It doesn't have to be complete sentences," Sakura said, "Just tell Hinata only what's important."

"Only what's important," Naruto repeated, "Okay, I think I've got it."

…Meanwhile…

As Shino talked with the village councilpersons about establishing a supply depot in their town, Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata were looking around the village marketplace, discussing what available buildings and properties could be converted to supply storage. Suddenly, Hinata stiffened, as if she was just shocked by a large jolt of static electricity. But what stunned her was the fact that she was hearing Naruto's voice within her mind, and that he was clearly speaking to her as if he was right there with her.

_Hinata-Chan. Will explain later. Francine and Marauders coming your way. Hold them off as long as can. Will come with help soon. Love, Naruto._

"I love you too, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered.

"You say something, Hinata?" Kiba asked.

"Huh, oh!" Hinata said, "We need to get ready! Francine and her Marauders are heading for this village as we speak!"

"What!?" Kiba asked.

"How could you know this?" Shino asked.

"I think Naruto warned me," Hinata said, "I can't fully explain it, but we need to get the people of this village out of harms way right now!"

"How are we gonna hide so many people?" Kiba asked, "And do we even know how much time we have?"

"Leave that to me," Shino said, "I've got an idea."

Fifteen minutes later, a dozen men on horseback, and one woman, rode into the village. The stopped in the middle of the town, apparently surprised at the lack of activity in the village. There wasn't a villager in sight.

"This is unexpected," Francine said as she and her Marauders dismounted, "I could have sworn that there would be at least 200 'sheep' for us to slaughter in this flyspeck of a village."

"Is it possible that the infidels knew that we were coming?" one of the Marauders asked.

"Highly unlikely," Francine answered, "Only a skilled magic user could track us. Unless… of course! That little whore! She must have scryed our movements!!"

"Mistress?" another of the Marauders asked.

"There's no time to waste," Francine said, "We must return to Lord Manos at once." As she and the Marauders began mounting their horses, Francine paused, "Wait, we're already here, we might as well destroy this village."

"Excellent!!" exclaimed one of the Marauders. But before he and the other brigands could begin their rampage of destruction, the wind blew something into Francine's face.

It looked to be a piece of scrap paper. She read what was on it, 'See you in hell, suckers!'

"You all will be in hell long before I get there, infidel swine!" Francine cursed as she tossed the paper into the wind. Yet if Francine had taken the time to look at the opposite side of the paper, she would have sent he hastily inked kanji symbol for 'explosive.'

The piece of paper drifted over to one of the marauders and got caught in his armor. As the brigand removed the paper from his armor, the paper exploded, killing the brigand and the one next to him.

"A trap!!" exclaimed Francine.

"Now!!" shouted Kiba as he appeared on one side of the street. On the opposite side of the street was Akamaru, already transformed into his beast-human clone of Kiba. "Fang Overfang!!" shouted Kiba. He and the transformed Akamaru launched themselves into the air and begin spinning. The twin whirlwinds slammed into the Marauder ranks, killing two more apiece.

Their numbers reduced in half, the remaining Marauders tried to fight back against the furious assaults from the twin Kibas. But they failed to notice Shino launching a swarm of destruction bugs at the bandits. The remaining Marauders were overwhelmed and destroyed in less than 60 seconds.

"Infidels!!" exclaimed Francine, "You'll suffer dearly for your transgressions!!"

"I beg to differ!!" Hinata shouted as she emerged from around the street corner, "It is you whom shall pay for your crimes!"

"You stupid little girl!!" Francine spat, "I shall personally deliver your pathetic soul to Lord Manos. But first, I shall contend with your friends!" She raised her staff and chanted in a language that Hinata couldn't understand. Above Francine appeared two rifts, and from these rifts emerged two horrible creatures.

The first summoned monster was a 15ft tall praying mantis, it's two front legs gleaming in the sunlight like freshly sharpened axes. The second monster was a 12ft tall crab with four razor sharp pincer claws.

"Just when I thought today was going to be a good day," Kiba said as the two monsters approached him, Shino and Akamaru, who and resumed his four-legged form.

"The day may yet turn out to be a good one," Shino said as he set his sunglass-covered eyes on the giant mantis, "You take the crab, I'll handle this monstrosity."

"It's never easy for us, is it Akamaru?" Kiba asked as the giant crab lumbered towards him, "Oh well, immortality is overrated." He made his hand signs, "Ninja Art: Beast Human Transformation Jutsu!!"

He and Akamaru then jumped into the air and merged into a huge two-headed dog. They charged at the crab and bit into one of the monster's clawed limbs. The creature's armored shell was too tough to bite through, but Kiba and Akamaru weren't letting go. Together, they ripped the limb from the crab beast.

Shino meanwhile had recalled his destruction bugs, "When confronting a large, dangerous force," he said as he pulled out from his shoulder bag a scroll, "Sometimes the best course of action is to face the challenge with equal force." He opened the scroll, revealing several feet of ninja script. Holding the scroll open with his left hand, he bit his right thumb and smeared the ninja script with blood.

"Summing Jutsu!!"

The scroll produced a huge burst of smoke, and from that emerged a huge rhino beetle. "Attack!!" Shino commanded the beetle, which charged at the giant mantis. He then sent forth a fresh wave of destruction bugs at the monstrous mantis in a flanking maneuver.

"So it's just you and me now," Hinata said to Francine. She knew that Shino, Kiba and Akamaru could handle their own fights.

"You think you can defeat me!?" Francine spat, "One of Manos' chosen?! You're more pathetic than you realize, little girl!!"

"The only one here who's pathetic is you," Hinata said as she walked closer to Francine, "You've committed three fatal mistakes. The first was attacking helpless innocent people, thinking that you could do whatever you want to them."

"I can do whatever I want!" Francine snapped, "To whomever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want! And there's nothing you can do to stop me!!"

"That's mistake number 2!" Hinata said as she kept moving closer, "Underestimating a Shinobi."

"Is that so," Francine taunted, "Well then, what's mistake number three?"

"Your third and final mistake," Hinata said as she stopped within ten paces of Francine, "Was to allow yourself to fall within range of the signature finishing technique of the Huyga Clan!"

"What!?" Francine exclaimed.

Hinata activated her Byakugan, and in her minds eye, she saw that Francine was inside the trigram seal.

"Gentle Fist Style! 8 Trigrams: 64 Palms!!" Hinata then rushed at Francine. She channeled a huge amount of Chakra into her fingertips, which she pressed at two of Francine's now visible Chakra nodes.

"Two Palms!!"

Hinata then slightly shifted position and tapped another two nodes.

"Four Palms!!"

She shifted positions again and tapped four nodes.

"Eight Palms!!"

She shifted to behind Francine and tapped eight nodes.

"Sixteen Palms!!"

She shifted to in front of Francine and tapped sixteen nodes.

"Thirty-two Palms!!"

She kept her position and tapped thirty-two nodes.

"Sixty-four Palms!!"

Hinata then grabbed Francine by the shoulders, "And for good measure!" and delivered a devastating skull bash. This turned out to be a somewhat bad idea, for Hinata was equally jolted by her head bashing into Francine's as the mad sorceress was.

"You bitch!!" Francine snapped as she stumbled about, "I'll turn you into a cockroach! So I can squash you!!" She aimed her staff at Hinata, but only a few feeble sparks came out of the end.

"What!?" Francine exclaimed as she tried to cast her curse again, yet only producing a few spurts of minute magic, "What did you do to me!?"

"I used my Kekkei Genkai," Hinata said while trying to maintain her balance. The skull bashing was affecting her vision so that there appeared to be three Francines', "My Byakugan allows me to see your Chakra network, which I blocked. You see, I believe that a mage channels energy the same way a Shinobi channels Chakra, so if you were to block that energy network in a magic user, he or she will be unable to use magic for a certain amount of time. But don't worry, it'll wear off with twenty-four hours, but you won't be around to see it."

"Wait!" Francine exclaimed as Hinata pulled out a kuni knife, "You can't kill me!"

"Try and stop me!" Hinata said with grim determination, "I usually detest killing, but for you I'll make an exception!! You are the most despicable excuse for a human being! You deserve to die!" She then slashed at Francine, aiming at her neck, but wound up cutting the sorceress' arm instead.

"You're an even bigger fool that I thought!!" Francine snapped, not caring that her arm was bleeding, "You think that spells and curses are my only weapon! Well you're wrong!!" she reached into her robes and pulled out a small black crystal. She threw it at Hinata, which produced a bright flash in front of her face.

Blinded by the flash, Hinata stumbled about, accidentally dropping her knife. "My eyes!! I can't see!!"

"Hinata!!" exclaimed Shino. But there wasn't anything he could do to help his teammate, as the giant mantis was still fighting his summoned beetle. Kiba and Akamaru had shifted back to their normal forms and were still fighting the giant crab.

"What was it you said about me?" Francine taunted as she picked up the knife, "That I was a despicable excuse for a human being, and that I deserved death? Well think again, little girl! It is you who shall die!!" She then lunged at Hinata, the madwoman's eyes wide with anticipation of the kill to come.

Yet the kill did not come, for Hinata had grabbed hold of Francine's arms before the knife got too close.

"What!?" Francine exclaimed, "What is this!?"

"Just because I can't see!" Hinata said, "Doesn't mean that I can't sense you! Besides," She twisted Francine's arms, forcing the sorceress to drop the knife, "I heard you coming a mile away." Hinata then let go of one arm and punched Francine in the face. She jumped back several paces, while Francine fell to the ground.

Just then Kiba and Akamaru finished destroying the crab monster, while Shino recalled his destruction bugs from the slain giant mantis, his summoned beetle disappearing now that its job was accomplished. Both monsters were dissolving into puddles of green goo, which soon evaporated and were gone.

"You've got a lot to answer for, lady!" Kiba said.

"I'm sure that Naruto and the others will wish to question this woman when they get here," said Shino.

"You are so naive!" Francine snapped. She pulled out a parchment scroll and red it's contents very quickly. Before Kiba and Shino could act, Francine was gone in a purple flash.

"Sht!!" Kiba exclaimed, "She got away!"

"That may be," Shino said, "But at least she did not escape victorious." He then disabled the Genjutsu that he set up to conceal the villagers from the Marauders.

An hour later Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Henry and two-dozen guardsmen arrived at the village, expecting a bloodbath. They were surprised to find the village nearly intact and only twelve dead bodies, all of them slain Marauders.

The villagers were still congratulating Shino, Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata for saving them. Hinata, who's vision had cleared a while ago, fist noticed that Naruto and his group were there.

"Naruto-kun!!" Hinata exclaimed happily. She ran over to Naruto and embraced him.

"Hinata-chan," said a slightly confused Naruto, "What happened here?"

"It's a long story," Kiba said, "But let's say that Francine won't be so eager to attack Andalasia any more."

..Meanwhile…

Far to the west, the dark horde of Manos had swelled to over 120,000. There were more than just soldiers in the increasing camp; there were supply managers, cooks, thousands of slaves, not to mention the thousands upon thousands of pack animals. All in all it was a logistical nightmare, yet the tasks set by Manos were being carried out. It wouldn't be long before this monster was ready to move towards its intended victim.

Within the central tent, Manos sat in meditation, surrounded by the glowing crystals that housed the captured souls of innocent young women. He chuckled to himself, "So, these Shinobi are more audacious than I gave them credit for."

Just then several purple armored soldiers escorted a frazzled looking Francine into the tent. "Lord Manos," Francine said as she prostrated herself in front of her master, "I am unworthy to look upon thee."

"That you are," Manos said, "Most unworthy. You know that I have little tolerance for failure."

"Please, master!" Francine said, "It wasn't my fault! The Shinobi…"

"I know about the Shinobi who deprived you of your powers, Francine," Manos interrupted, "That girl possesses a powerful bloodline ability. If I had the time, I'd eagerly capture her soul and take control of her body. But other matters must come first. I will give you one more chance, Francine."

"You will!?" Francine asked hopefully as she rose into a kneeling position, "Thank you, Lord Manos!!"

"Do not thank me yet," Manos said, "What you should be thankful for is my generosity. I shall replenish the ranks of your Marauders, so that you can complete your mission. I want the entire kingdom of Andalasia to be on its knees in terror by the time my forces arrive at the border. Just to be safe, I'll inform my contact in Andalasia that the time for him to act is near. I'm sure he will do his best to help you. We shall be ready to move before too long, so time is against you, Francine, now go."

"I will not fail you, Lord Manos," Francine said as she bowed.

"See that you don't," Manos said, "Or I shall add your soul to my collection!"

"I will not fail you, Lord Manos," Francine repeated, but in a much more meeker tone. She bowed again and exited the tent.

"She's barely worth collecting," Manos said to himself, "Her soul is already tarnish beyond restoration; it'd be a blight among my treasures." He looked among his collected souls, then set his gaze on a crystal ball in the middle of the tent, one that displayed Clare.

"But you, Clare Rachuba, are a rare gem indeed. Soon you shall be mine."

The end of chapter 9.

Naruto: Yes! Victory!!

Sasuke: Don't celebrate just yet, Naruto. We still have to save the rest of the kingdom.

Sakura: And don't forget, there are still plenty of enemies within the kingdom.

Naruto: Huh? What are you talking about, Sakura?

Sakura: You'll find out next time, Naruto.

Naruto: But I want to know now!

Sasuke: Oh just go eat another bowl of ramen, it'll help pass the time.

Naruto: Ooh, ramen! Yummy!

Shino: Next chapter; True Colors: A Traitor Revealed

Kiba: Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie.

Naruto: And ramen, don't forget the ramen.


	12. Ch10: True Colors! A Traitor Revealed!

**Chapter 10**

**True Colors: A Traitor Revealed**

…four days later…

It was a hot and muggy dawn as Naruto slurped down the remains of his usual ramen breakfast. Things had been rather quiet since Hinata and her group had defeated Francine. That night after our heroes returned to the capital, they celebrated with an impromptu party. Around midnight Naruto and Hinata spent some promised alone time together. They spent the rest of the night lying atop the palace roof, starring at the stars.

Naturally things got boring afterwards as Naruto discovered that being in charge of defending against an invasion wasn't as cracked up to be. Putting the new army through hours of training soon got rather repetitive for the young Shinobi. And then there was the endless piles of paperwork that he had to help sign.

"I don't know how Granny Tsunade does it," Naruto said as he finished a batch of requisition forms, only to have a clerk push another stack in front of him.

"Consider this practice," Hinata said in a reassuring manner, "For when you become Hokage."

So here Naruto was, four days after Hinata and her team defeated Francine, getting ready for another dreadful day of paperwork and recruit training.

Yet something seemed different as he left his guest apartment in the palace to meet up with Sakura and Sasuke; something wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but Naruto felt that something was going to happen, something bad.

Just then he heard several muffled explosions, coming from the city below. He rushed out onto a nearby balcony to see at least a dozen smoke clouds rising from the city. The wind was blowing from the city, carrying with it the smell of smoke, and the sound of panicking people.

Naruto then sensed someone behind him. He turned around to see Sasuke and Sakura had come out onto the balcony as well. "Come on!" Naruto said. With that they three Shinobi rushed out of the palace and into the city below.

They reached the city streets to find a war zone. Dead bodies littered the streets and sidewalks, while those alive were trying to get away from men on horseback, whom were trying to kill them.

"Marauders!!" Sakura shouted as she pulled out four shuriken. She threw the metal stars at the four closest brigands, slaying them.

"There's more than Marauders!" Sasuke said as he threw two kuni knives, slaying two more brigands, "Some of them are wearing what looks like a noble's coat of arms!"

"Who cares who they are!!" Naruto said as he pulled a brigand down from his horse and snapped the brigand's neck, "I want to know how they got here without us knowing about it!!"

"We'll worry about that later," Sasuke said, "Right now we've got work to do."

"This is bad," Sakura said as she, Naruto and Sasuke ran through the streets, doing their best to get the innocent bystanders out of harms way, while slaying any brigands who get too close, "Neji, Shikamaru and their groups are doing training exorcizes with the new army. It'll be an hour before they can get back."

"Too bad," Sasuke said, "We have to protect the city."

It seemed like there were hundreds of Marauders and the mysterious crest-adorned bandits roaming the city, killing and destroying buildings at will.

Just then Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru came running up the street.

"What's going on here!?" Kiba asked, "Who are these people fighting along with the Marauders!?"

"And why are they attacking the city?" Hinata asked.

"They're all working for Silas Dubois and his supporters!" Henry said as he and a large group of palace guards caught up with Naruto and the others, "I'd know that bastard's crest anywhere!! He's attempting a coup!!"

"The hell he is!" Naruto said, "Not on my watch, believe it!"

"How are we going to stop them with only the seven of us?" Hinata asked, "Excuse me, eight." Akamaru gave a grunt that Kiba understood to be 'Right!'

"We fight as best we can," Naruto said, "We're The Fighting Dreamers, remember?"

"Oh crap!" Henry exclaimed, "Natalie! I left her back at the palace!!"

"I'll go!" Kiba said, "You guys save the city, I'll save the princess. Let's go, Akamaru!!" With that Kiba and Akamaru took off towards the palace.

"Your sister is in good hands," Hinata said to Henry, "Kiba will die before he'll let anyone hurt Natalie."

"I believe he would," Henry said, "But what about us? Only a handful of guardsmen are present in the city right now."

"Leave that to me!" Naruto said as he made his hand signs, "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!!" With a loud bang and a large blast of smoke, two hundred Naruto's stood where there was once one.

"Protect the city!!" the real Naruto ordered.

"Right!!" exclaimed all 199 clones. The dispersed in different directions.

It was then that Hinata saw a familiar face a few blocks up the street. "Francine," Hinata said as she watched the mad mage turn the corner. She then ran after Francine, leaving Naruto and the others as they went off in a different direction.

It wouldn't be for another two minutes or so before the real Naruto realized that Hinata wasn't there. "You guys keep going," Naruto said, "I'll be right back."

He ran back to where he last saw Hinata, which happened to be in the middle of a street intersection. Naruto had no idea where she went.

Naruto was about to bite his thumb and perform a Summoning Jutsu, but he realized that this wasn't something The Chief Toad wouldn't like to be bothered for. Besides, he still had trouble with the Summoning; sometimes when he wanted Gamabunta, Gamakichi would appear. And sometimes he'd bring Gamatatsu along with him.

No, a Summoning Jutsu wouldn't be appropriate this time. But then, Naruto did have a way of finding Hinata. Jus the other day the two young Shinobi had a few hours off from their duties. They spent the afternoon browsing the many marketplaces in the city, and Naruto had bought Hinata a bottle of special perfume.

Naruto sniffed the air for the special scent that Hinata picked out; a mixture of lilac, vanilla and something that Naruto didn't know was, but he'd recognize it when he smelt it.

It took him a while, but he finally picked up the scent of Hinata's perfume. Naruto then followed the trail up the street and turned right.

Hinata meanwhile had chassed Francine several blocks before catching up with her in a large square. "Stop!!" Hinata shouted.

"You are a fool to try and take me on your own!" Francine spat as she glared at Hinata.

"I defeated you before," Hinata said as she took up the fighting stance of the Gentile Fist style, "I can do it again!"

"We'll just see about that!" Francine said. She aimed her staff at Hinata and shot several bolts of dark energy at her. Hinata easily dodged the bolts, but they were only a distraction, one that allowed Francine to get behind Hinata. She sensed the mad mage's presence, but was too late to stop Francine from throwing a small paper packet at Hianta's face, which broke on impact.

The packet was filled with some kind of black powder, which Hinata happened to inhale. She tried to cough it out, but it's gritty feeling still filled her lings. The feeling passed within seconds.

"Is that the best you can do?" Hinata asked.

"I'm just getting warmed up," Francine said, "Anyway, how are you feeling? Any different?"

Such an empathic question was a little disturbing, coming from someone as insane as Francine. Yet Hinata did feel strange, like something very important was missing form her. Just then the answer hit her like a thunderbolt. _No! _she thought, _it's impossible!!_

"_Byakugan!" _she said, trying to activate her Kekkei Genkai, but her chakra-enhanced vision wouldn't come. _"Byakugan! Byakugan!!"_

"What's the matter?" Francine asked in a taunting tone, "Having trouble getting your grove on?"

"What did you do to me!?" Hinata exclaimed as she made several hand signs in an attempt to build up more chakra, but none would come.

"That powder is one of Lord Manos' many creations," Francine said gleefully, "It inhibits the body's ability to channel stamina into chakra. Unfortunately the effect only last about an hour, but not to worry, you'll be long dead before that happens."

"If I can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu," Hinata said, taking up a defensive fighting posture, "Then I'll pound you with taijutsu!"

"How childish," Francine said. She aimed her staff at Hinata and said something in a language that Hinata couldn't understand.

Something invisible struck Hinata with the force of a train crash. She was thrown several feet, landing in a heap several yards away.

"Didn't see that one coming, did you?" Francine mocked.

Hinata felt like a tone of bricks had fallen on her. She wasn't sure, but a few bones felt like they were broken, or at least fractured.

"Such a shame," Francine said a she walked over to Hinata, "Lord Manos would have enjoyed taking your soul for his own, but when the true master of the world decrees that someone is to die, that person is already dead."

Francine stopped above Hianta's injured form. Hinata tried to crawl away, but her legs hurt too much to move.

"Again, it's such a shame," Francine said in a disgustingly sweet tone, "A vision of beauty such as you, cut down in the prime of her youth. And such pretty hands," her staff glowed dark purple, at the same time Hinata's hands glowed purple as well, "These hands caused me a lot of trouble the other day. Let's see how much I can play with them before they break!"

Hinata watched in horror as the purple glow forced her hands to bend backwards as far as they would go.

"You don't have to do this," Hinata said, trying to reason with the madwoman, "Seriously, that's not necessary."

"You're right," Francine said, "I don't have to do it. But I want to!" She tapped her staff on the ground once; causing Hinata's hands to bend back even further, breaking in the middle of the palms.

The pain was beyond description, far worse than the thrashing Neji gave her during the Chûnin exam six years ago. Yet Hinata bit down on her lip, refusing to scream. She may be hurting more than she had ever hurt in her life, but Hinata still had her dignity; she would not give Francine the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

Less than a mile away, Naruto sensed that something terrible was happening to Hinata. He put on an extra burst of speed, praying that it was not too late.

"Well that's not right," Francine said in a mock serious tone, "It's no fun if it doesn't scream when it is in pain. Well, I'll just have to make it scream!" she tapped her staff again, causing Hianta's fingers to bend backwards. One by one they snapped at the joints, yet Hinata still refused to scream.

"Well you're no fun at all," Francine said in a disappointed tone, "Looks like I'll have to end our little play date early. Die!!" she raised her staff high in preparation of something horrible and lethal.

"Demon Wind Shuriken!!"

Francine's concentration was broken as she saw the extra-large throwing star heading right for her head. She teleported out of the way just in time to avoid being decapitated, reappearing several yards away.

"Hinata!!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran towards her. He skidded to a halt besides Hinata.

"Naruto-Kun," Hinata said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I didn't scream."

"Hinata-Chan," Naruto said, he was shocked to see the state she was in, "Your hands!"

"I didn't scream," Hinata said, "She wanted me to, but I didn't." she smiled before fainting.

Just then Sasuke and Sakura caught up with Naruto.

"By Kami!" Sakura exclaimed, "What happened to her hands?!"

"Sakura," Naruto said in a slightly grim tone, "Please, take care of Hinata."

"Huh?" Sakura asked, "Oh, on it!" she began Healing Hinata's injuries, starting with her hands.

"Sasuke," Naruto said, "Cover me."

"Right," Sasuke said.

Naruto then glared at Francine, "You did this, didn't you!?"

"Guilty as charged," Francine said in an all too happy tone, "So what are you going to do about it, little boy? Are you gonna cry over your little girlfriend? Well, what are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna rip your f#ckng heart out," Naruto said with grim determination, his blue eyes filled with hate.

"Really," Francine said, "I'd like to see you try."

"Gladly!" Naruto said. He threw a double handful of shuriken at Francine. While the mad mage blocked the throwing stars with her staff, Naruto moved behind her and tried to grab her by the neck.

He grabbed nothing, as the image of Francine vanished.

"A genjutsu?" Naruto asked.

"A glamour," Francine said as she appeared to Naruto's left. She then threw another packet of the black powder in his face. Naruto tried to dodge it, but the paper packet broke open a few inches in front of him. He caught a lungful of the powder.

"As much as I'd like to play with you," Francine said as Naruto tried to cough the powder out of his lungs, "Like I played with your dear, sweet girlfriend, I just don't have the time. So I'll just destroy you, quick and clean like, before I move in to finish your girlfriend."

"Naruto's in trouble," Sakura said, "I can't sense any chakra from him."

"I'm gonna help him," Sasuke said as he drew his sword.

"Keep back, Sasuke!" Naruto said, "Stay with Hinata and Sakura. I've got this!"

"The only thing you've got!" Francine said, "Is a one-way ticket to hell!!" she aimed her staff at Naruto and cast a devastating curse at him. The bolt of dark magic shot at Naruto, who just stood there.

Yet the curse had no effect. Rather, it bounced off of Naruto, whose body was now emitting a red glow.

"What!?" Francine exclaimed, "Impossible! What trickery is this!?"

"It's not a trick," Naruto said, his voice heavy with hate and disgust at the mad mage, "This is as real as its gonna get!!"

Francine was shocked at the transformation Naruto was undergoing. His body was covered in red energy that gleamed with malice. His fingernails had lengthen into claws, his canine teeth elongating into fangs, the whisker-like marks on his face were now more pronounced, his eyes were blood red.

"I don't care what you do, ninja boy," Francine taunted, "I'll still take you down!!"

"Give me your best shot!" Naruto said boldly.

"Gladly!!" Francine exclaimed. She then sent several dark spheres at Naruto. Yet all of the curses bounced off of Naruto's demon aura.

"Is that all?" Naruto asked, "I expected more. I guess that's what you get when you deal with a slave of Manos."

"You dare to take the name of the true master of the world in vain!!" exclaimed Francine. She then conjured up a huge dark magic sphere, "Die, infidel!!" she shouted, and sent the sphere at Naruto.

He held his ground as the dark magic blast zoomed towards him at breakneck speed. Just as the sphere was about to blast him into oblivion, Naruto caught it in his bare hands.

"Impossible!!" Francine exclaimed.

"Right back at you!!" Naruto shouted as he threw the sphere at Francine.

The mad mage barely managed to teleport out of the way as the sphere detonated where she stood, destroying everything within twenty feet.

Francine materialized on the other side of the square, only to find Naruto standing right in front of her. She tried to run the other way, but he appeared in front of her again.

"What is this!?" Francine said, real fear gripping her voice, "What are you!?"

"I am the son of the Fourth Hokage of The Hidden Leaf Village," Naruto said as he walked towards Francine, his face full of dark intent, "And the future Sixth Hokage. I am the Nine Tailed Fox Demon contained in human form. I am the enemy of those who would bring fear and hopelessness to the innocent! I am the destroyer of those who destroy dreams! I am the slayer of those who slay the helpless! I AM NARUTO!!"

Faster than the human eye could pick up, Naruto ran up to Francine and plunged his right hand into her torso. Francine screamed in terror and pain Naruto took a firm grip, "Believe it!!" and ripped her heart out. She fell to the ground dead as a doornail.

He stood there over Francine's corpse, gripping her still twitching heart as it feebly beat its last beats. He breathed deeply, as if to compose himself while the red demon chakra began to fade.

"That was disturbing," Sakura said in a stunned tone.

"Indeed," Sasuke said in an equally stunned voice. He carefully walked over to where Naruto stood.

"Just keep back, Sasuke!!" Naruto yelled, "I'm in no condition to be around with!!"

Sensing that this was a bad time to argue, Sasuke backed off. He had good reason to, for Naruto was fighting another battle, one of the spirit. He hadn't had need to call on the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox since he captured Sasuke two years ago, and all that inactivity has made the demon restless.

Within Naruto's subconscious a battle of wills was taking place. Frustrated at being cooped up for so long with nothing to do, the Nine-Tailed Fox was trying to break the seal. Naruto's inner being, however, was holding back against the gates that contained the demon. The seal placed by the 4th Hokage, so strong and yet so fragile, was threatening to tear.

"No you don't, demon!" Naruto exclaimed as he pushed to keep the gates closed, "You ain't getting lose, not on my watch!!"

**"You truly are an idiot, boy!!" **growled the Nine-Tailed Fox as he pushed against the gates, **"You foolishly squander the power I freely gave you! I've had enough of being contained! The time has come for me to ride the winds once again!!"**

"You know damn well I can't let that happen!" Naruto said as he forced the gates to remain closed, "I'm as unhappy with this as you are, but we're stuck together, so just sit and chill!"

"**You have know idea what it is like to be stuck inside a human body!!" **the demon raged, **"I have endured watching you live your so called life; you humans disgust me!!"**

"Having you inside me hasn't been a ramen picnic for me either," Naruto said, "But you're not getting out! I'll bet that if you did get out, you'd kill the first group of people you saw, just for spite!"

"**The first thing I will do when I escape this abysmal prison,"** said the Nine-Tailed Fox, **"Is to finish what I started, by destroying your pathetic Hidden Leaf Village!!"**

"All the more reason for me to keep you locked up," Naruto said, "And don't even think about trying to take control of my body. I learned a few things from Pervy Sage for something like that."

"**And just what did you learn from that fool Jiraiya?" **the demon asked.

"This for one," Naruto said. He braced the gates with one arm, while with his other, pulled out from his belt pouch two paper stickers. He placed one above the primary seal, the other below. Naruto then made his hand signs and channeled some chakra into the stickers, "Sealing Jutsu!!" The stickers glowed blue.

"**What did you do!?" **the demon asked, **"Tell me!!"**

"I strengthened the seal my father created," Naruto said as be backed away from the gates, "Pervy Sage and Granny Tsunade warned met that you'd try to break out sooner or later. So I decided to do something about it sooner, rather then wait for you to catch me off guard."

"**You miserable brat!!"** the demon shouted as he tried to break through the gates. The bars rattled a bit, but the gates and the seals held firm like a mountain**. "Open this gate at once!! Let me out!! Let me out!!"**

"Yell and scream all you want, Nine-Tailed Fox," Naruto said "It won't do you any good. Like I said, we're stuck with each other." With that he started walking out of the corridors of his inner mind.

"**Don't you turn your back on me, boy!!"** raged the 9-Tailed Fox, **"I will get out of here!! Some day I will escape!! Then the whole world shall know my wrath!!"**

"Not today, demon," Naruto said as he turned the corner, "Not today,"

Back in the human world, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as the last of the demon chakra faded from his body.

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm fine," Naruto answered, "I nearly lost control of the demon. I managed to strengthen the seal that keeps it locked up, but it won't hold for long. Sooner or later we're gonna have to deal with the Nine-Tailed Fox."

"Well putting demons aside," Sakura said, "I think we've got a bigger problem right here and now." Sakura had spent the whole time trying to heal Hinata's broken hands. Most of Hinatas' wounds were healed with barely any scaring, yet for some reason her hands remained mangled.

"What's wrong?!" Naruto asked, "Why can't you fix Hinata's hands!?"

"I don't know," Sakura said, "I did everything right, her hands should be good as new by now. But something is resisting the healing Jutsus. The only thing I can do for Hinata is take away the pain, and I've already done so."

Just then Henry came running into the square. With him was Clare, Elaine, Shino and several guardsmen, along with several dozen Naruto clones.

"We're just about done here," said clone number 47, "Nearly all the baddies are dead or captured. The guards are rounding up the rest."

"Right," said Naruto in a slightly dazed tone, "Good job, guys." With that the clones disappeared.

"What happened to Hinata?" Clare asked, shocked at the sight of her friends' broken hands.

"I'm not sure," Sakura said, "That Francine did something to block her Chakra, then did something to break her hands. I've done everything I can, but her hands won't heal."

"Francine," Elaine said as she stood over the dead body of her former friend, "oh Francine, why? Why did you have to get so greedy? I told you, back when we were in school, I told you 'patience and moderation'. But no, you had to get greedy and join with the likes of Manos. Oh Francine, you stupid bitch! Look at you now!!" She kicked the lifeless body of her former friend.

It was then that Hinata regained consciousness. "What happened?" she asked.

"I'm afraid you passed out on us," Sakura said, "Naruto took care of that crazy woman."

"My hands," Hinata said.

"I did what I could," Sakura said in a sympathetic tone, "Honest, but I couldn't heal them, and I don't know what to do. Maybe Lady Tsunade would know."

"Francine used a powerful form of dark magic," Elaine said, "I can sense the traces of her curse. This curse was marked forbidden by its rather nasty aftereffects that are best left unspoken. I'm afraid only the most powerful of healing magic can reverse this affliction." She then looked at Clare, "Miss Clare, if you would, please. Time is of the essence."

"I'm ready," Clare said. She knelt down beside Hinata and took hold of her broken hands. Hinata gasped in pain as the broken bones moved about in Clare's gentle yet firm hold.

"Just relax, Hinata-Chan," Clare said in a kind, calming tone, "And think pleasant thoughts." She closed her eyes and began chanting in a language Naruto and the other Shinobi present couldn't understand. It was almost like singing.

Suddenly, Clare's hands were surrounded in a white glow that radiated through Hinata's hands as well. Naruto and the others watched in amazement as Hinata's hands began to mend themselves. Within seconds all the bones were healed and back where they should be.

"All done," Clare said as the white light faded, "And I've also cured the chakra disrupting poison as well. I can take care of Naruto as well if he'd permit me."

"Um…uh…" said an understandably confused Naruto, "Sure, I guess."

"What the heck just happened?" Sakura asked, while Clare laid her hands on Naruto's head and began chanting again, the white light radiating through his body.

"Didn't you know?" Henry asked, "Clare is part Cleric."

"A what now?" Sasuke asked.

"Miss Clare comes from a long line of Light magic users," Elaine said, "I believe it was Miss Clare's grandfather, on her mother's side, who was a practitioner of the healing arts."

"Feeling better?" Clare asked as she finished working her magic on Naruto.

"Only one way to find out," Naruto said, a sly and mischievous look on his face.

"Oh no!" Sakura exclaimed, "Don't you dare use that! Not here, not now, not ever!!"

"Sexy Jutsu!!" Naruto said. With a puff of smoke, Naruto cast a Genjutsu on himself that transformed him into a very buxom blond girl, the remains of the smoke concealing her more private areas.

The appearance of such a scantily clad girl caused a sudden outbreak of nose bleeds among the males present in the square.

"Oh man!!" laughed Naruto as he released the genjutsu, returning his appearance to normal, "I haven't used that in a long time, total classic!"

Sakura was about to bash Naruto in the face in her usual manner. Yet Hinata, who had been flexing her newly healed hands in amazement that they were alright, beat Sakura to the punch, literally. Hinata walked up to Naruto and slapped him across the face as hard as she could, producing a large red welt.

"Don't you ever do that again, Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed, "Or so help me, I'll break your mother-f#ckng head open!"

"Okay, okay," Naruto said meekly, "Sheesh, I was just having a little fun."

"Well you can have all the fun you want later," Hinata said, "But we still have a job to finish today."

"Yes, dear," Naruto muttered.

"I'd never thought I'd live to see the day," Shino said, "But I do believe that our Hinata has tamed Naruto."

"Fat chance," Sasuke said, "right now we need to help round up the rebels."

"Where's Kiba and Akamaru?" Clare asked.

"They went to the palace to check on Natalie," Shino said.

"Well we'd better go help them," Henry said hastily, "There's still a large concentration of rebels around the palace. And if I'm right, and I really hope I'm wrong, then Natalie is in more danger than she realizes."

"That blond kid is something else," Talon said as he and Malicious watched Naruto and the others head towards the palace.

"Indeed," Malicious said, "The power of that demon inside of him could make the boy the most powerful human in the world, assuming the demon doesn't kill him or take possession."

"Then let's kill him now," Talon said as he opened his Death Note to a blank page, "Before he becomes a threat; us Shinigami aren't very popular among demons."

"I told you before," Malicious, "It isn't worth our wile to write down the name of a Shinobi. Besides, there's a distinct chance that by killing that particular boy with the power of the Death Note, we could inadvertently release the demon inside him."

"You make a solid point," Talon said as he closed his Death Note, "I'll leave him and his friends alone. Anyway, we wrote enough names for today."

"We may have filled our quota for the time being," Malicious said, "But the humans aren't done killing each other this day."

Back up at the palace, Natalie paced nervously in the palace gardens. Her father, the king, had told her to stay where it was safe, while he dealt with the crisis growing in the city. She had a lot to worry about, not just for her father and brother, but also for the people in the city being slaughtered by whoever was responsible. But most of all, Natalie was worried about Kiba. The young princess had grown quite fond of the brave and somewhat wild Shinobi from the north.

Just then Natalie sensed that she wasn't alone in the gardens. She turned around; there, about twenty feet away, stood the last person Natalie ever wanted to see.

"Hello, Natalie," said Silas Dubois, "I thought this was where you would be."

"Lord Silas!" said Natalie, "What are you doing here!? You know my father has ordered you to stay away from Andraios, not to mention me. If my brother catches you here, he'll skin you alive."

"I've decided that I've had just about enough of Joshua's and Henry's follies," said Silas, "A great change is coming to this kingdom, Natalie. I've come to make sure that you're by my side when it occurs."

It was like a tone of bricks falling, as Natalie realized what was going on, "You're behind this riot!"

"It's more than a riot, dearest Natalie," Silas said, "I'm going to take over Andalasia. Once I've pacified the kingdom and removed all undesirables, I'll open the way for the true master of the world. I'm sure that the living god will reward me generously for preparing the way for him."

"And I thought you couldn't sink any lower," Natalie said, her voice twisted with rage and hate, "You would sell out your king and kingdom to the likes of Manos! When my father…"

"By now your father is already dead!" Silas spat as he stepped closer to Natalie, "Him, and your precious brother, Henry. It's only a matter of time before your mother and younger brother are put out of their misery. But you, Natalie, I've decided to spare you. When Manos makes me king of Andalasia, I shall need a queen by my side. After all, a king is only half a king without a queen."

"You're mad!!" Natalie exclaimed, "And you're also dead! Guards!! Guards!!"

"My men are taking care of the palace guards," Silas said, "I assure you, we won't be disturbed."

At that time Kiba and Akamaru had reached the palace. There they saw that several palace guards and servants were already slain, while more guards were currently fighting dozens of Marauders and soldiers wearing the livery of Silas Dubois.

Kiba and Akamaru then ran through the palace halls, killing any enemy soldiers that they saw and helping the guardsman get the servants out of harms way.

"Where's Natalie!?" Kiba asked one of the guardsmen, "I need to find her!"

"She's in the gardens," one of the servants said.

"Thank you," said Kiba. He then looked at Akamaru, "I'm gonna go see if Natalie is okay. You help out where you can."

'You got it!' said Akamaru. With that Kiba headed for the palace gardens.

"I'll never join you, Silas Dubois!!" Natalie exclaimed, "You are a traitor to your king and kingdom! I can never even remotely consider being with a scumbag like you!!"

"Well that's a shame," Silas said as he skulked closer to Natalie, now less than two yards away from her, "I was hoping I wouldn't have to hurt you, but then, where's the fun if things don't get a little rough?"

"You like things rough?" Natalie asked as the madman closed the distance to less than a yard, "I'll give you rough!" She delivered a right cross to his face, followed by a high kick to the torso, finishing with knee strike to the groin. Silas fell to the ground in pain.

Natalie then ran back to the palace corridors, but something grabbed and immobilized her so that she couldn't move.

"If I hadn't fortified my body with magic this morning," Silas said as he stood up, his cane pointed at Natalie, "That would have hurt a lot." He walked over the paralyzed Natalie and backhanded her in the face, knocking her to the ground. The madman then unsheathed a long knife. He knelt down besides Natalie, his knife raised high, "If you won't give me your heart willingly, then I shall take it from you!!"

"Demon Wind Shuriken!!"

Silas looked up from his intended victim just in time to see an extra large throwing star coming straight at him. He jumped back to avoid the shuriken, which would have sliced his head clean off.

"Natalie!" exclaimed Kiba as he rushed to her side, "Are you alright? Did he hurt you!?"

"I'm fine," Natalie said, "A little stiff from that spell he used on me, but fine. That lunatic wanted to cut my heart out." She then embraced Kiba, "You saved me, brave Shinobi. How can I ever repay you?"

"I wish for nothing," Kiba said, "Except to be with you, Natalie."

"And all I wish for is to be with you, Kiba Inuzuka," Natalie said.

"Natalie," said Kiba as they looked into each other's eyes.

"Impudent Shinobi scum!!" snapped Silas, "How dare you even look at what is mine!!"

"Just stand back, Natalie," Kiba said with grim determination, "I'll take care of this worm."

"I know you will," said Natalie.

"Take care of me, will you?" Silas taunted, "Well take care of this!!" He aimed his right hand at Kiba and shot a sphere of dark green energy. The blast would have been fatal on someone else, but then Kiba isn't just anyone else.

When the smoke cleared from the blast, Silas was confused to see only a small crater in the ground, and nothing else.

"Odd," said Silas, "There should have been some remains."

"Hey slime ball!!" exclaimed Kiba. Silas turned around to see that Kiba was on the other side of the gardens.

"How did you get over there!?" Silas exclaimed.

"It's a little something called speed," said Kiba as he made his hand signs, "All Shinobi are fast, but ninjas in my family can be faster than others." Be channeled his chakra thought his body, then got down on his hands and feet, "Beast Mimicry: All Fours Jutsu!!"

"Die vermin!!" exclaimed Silas as he shot another dark sphere at Kiba. He easily dodged the blast, moving as if he were a very fast canine.

"Stay still, lowly cur!!" exclaimed Silas as he kept blasting at Kiba, who kept dodging the attacks.

But then Kiba's luck apparently ran out. Silas shot a blast at Kiba when he was less than ten yards away. Kiba took the blast before he could react.

"No!" cried Natalie, "Kiba!"

"I'm afraid your pet ninja has expired," gloated Silas as he waited for the smoke to clear from the kill area, "But worry not, dearest Natalie, you'll see him soon enough in hell. That is, unless you've changed your mind about me."

"Never!" spat Natalie, "I'll never be yours!!"

"So be it," said Silas as he picked up his knife from where he dropped it. But then he saw that once again he didn't hit Kiba. The wind had blew away the smoke, revealing a crater. Yet it was more than that, it looked to be a deep hole in the ground.

"Where is he!?" snapped Silas as he looked around for any sign of Kiba, "He couldn't have disappeared! Where did that flea-bitten mongrel go?!"

It was then that Silas got his answer. He felt a slight tremor in the ground where he was standing. He looked down, just in time to see a fist emerging from the ground, a fist attached to Kiba. Shouting in rage, Kiba delivered a devastating uppercut to Silas' chin, knocking the mad nobleman to the ground. This is the same maneuver that Naruto used to defeat Neji during the Chûnin exam, with the difference that Kiba didn't use a Shadow Clone to distract Silas.

"Kiba!" Natalie shouted happily, "I thought you were…"

"I'm fine, Natalie," said Kiba, "I'll have to thank Naruto for showing me that burrowing strike."

"You bastard!!" spat Silas as he shakily got to his feet, his vision impaired from Kiba's hit, "I'll send you to hell where you belong!!" He aimed his hand to blast Kiba. But because he wasn't seeing clearly, he shot the dark sphere at Natalie.

Fortunately, Kiba saw the attack coming and pulled Natalie out of the way.

"I'll kill you both!!" raged Silas, "I'll kill you both!!" He was about to blast them, but then something big and shiny slashed across his outstretched arm. Kiba and Natalie looked to see Naruto and the others at the garden entrance; Naruto standing in a throwing stance. Kiba then looked at Silas just in time to see the mad nobleman's arm fall off at the elbow.

Silas howled in agony as he fell to the ground, his remaining hand clutching at the bleeding stump of his mangled arm.

"Kiba!!" exclaimed Naruto as he, Sakura, Shino and Hinata came running out towards Kiba and Natalie.

"What happened here?" Sakura asked.

"It was Silas Dubois," said Natalie, "He and Manos are in cahoots."

"We figured as much from the soldiers bearing the Dubois crest," said Shino.

"That was a good throw, Naruto," said Kiba, while Naruto retrieved his extra large shuriken.

"I was hoping to take his arm completely off," said Naruto, "Well, can't have everything, I guess."

Just then Henry and several dozen guardsmen entered the gardens. "What's happening out here!?" exclaimed Henry, "Where's Natalie?!"

"Over hear!" Kiba shouted, "Natalie's fine!"

"Thank the gods!" Henry exclaimed, "Natalie, I'm so sorry I wasn't here to protect you!"

"It's alright, brother," Natalie said, "My brave Shinobi was here." She and Kiba embraced again.

"Um," Naruto said, "Someone wish to fill me in on this?"

"You really are a knucklehead, Naruto," Shino said in a disappointed tone, "Anyone with at least one eye could see that Kiba and Natalie are smitten with each other."

"More than that," Hinata said, "I think Kiba and Natalie are in love."

"No!" moaned Silas. He was feebly trying to stop the blood that was still spurting from his severed arm, "She's mine! Natalie is mine!!"

"I forgot about that scumbag," Kiba said, "You want me to finish him?"

"I've got a better idea," Henry said, "Sakura, take care of that wound. I want Silas alive."

"Are you nuts!?" Sakura exclaimed, "This guy tried to overthrow King Joshua and rape Natalie just now!"

"Actually," Natalie said, "He was going to cut my heart out, but it's just as bad. Sakura's right; Silas' crimes merit death. I would relish a lengthy trial, so that all of Andalasia would know of his betrayal, but there's no time for that." She then glared at Silas, "Silas Dubois…"

"Lord Silas!" snapped the wounded madman.

"Not anymore," said King Joshua as he and several more guardsmen came out onto the gardens, a look of utter contempt on his face "You thought you could kill me and take my only daughter as your prize, Silas. You were wrong."

"Father!!" Natalie exclaimed as she ran towards and embraced Joshua, "I thought you were dead!"

"I'll never abandon you, my daughter," Joshua said, "I promise." He then glared at Silas, "Where as you, Silas Dubois, you have abandoned everything this kingdom stands for. Therefore, let the punishment fit the crime. I hereby strip you of all your titles and property. Your lands, your financial holdings, it will all be added to the royal treasure, from which it will be used to pay for all the damages you've done to this kingdom.

"As of this moment, Silas Dubois, you are forever banished from the kingdom of Andalasia. Leave this land and never return, under penalty of death."

"You're not going to kill me?" Silas asked as a hastily summoned healer bound his wounded arm.

"Death is far too good for you," Henry said, "I've been told that to show mercy to those who don't deserve it is a sigh of a good ruler. But I'm sure that in your banishment, you shall seek out your true master. So when you see Manos, tell him that he faces not a land of frightened sheep ready for the slaughter, but a kingdom of free men and women who would rather die fighting than be enslaved."

"No," Silas said as he stood up, the madness in his eyes now more pronounced than ever, "Not slaves. The women, the children, they shall be made slaves. But for all those who dare stand against the true master of the world, they shall all be destroyed! The invincible hordes of the Dark Lord Manos, descend upon all of you! Our arrows shall blot out the sun!!"

"Then we'll fight in the shade," Shino said. With that Silas was escorted out of the palace.

…Meanwhile…

"My Lord Manos," said the officer, "News from Andalasia. I regret to report that Lord Silas's rebellion has failed."

"I already know this, commander," said Manos, "That idiot Dubois was supposed to help Francine spark terror among the kingdom, not attempt a takeover to feed his personal greed. He received less than he deserved for his foolishness and impatience. And I also know that poor Francine is dead. Yet I'm not too surprised, especially since she met her end at the hands of a Jinchuuriki, a human serving as a vessel for a demon. And just when I thought things couldn't become more interesting. I can't wait to meet this young Shinobi in person."

"Then it is time, Lord Manos?" the officer asked, "Are we to finally move against Andalasia?"

"Yes, commander," Manos said, "Spread the word among the gathered faithful; we march east."

"It shall be done, Lord Manos." The officer bowed and left the tent.

"Yes," said Manos as he bushed a speck of dust off of a soul crystal, "Things are getting very interesting."

The end of chapter 10.

Naruto: Okay, we've gotten past that crisis. Now all we need to do is finish getting ready for Manos.

Shikamaru: Easier said than done. Man, administrative jobs are such a drag.

Ino: Everything is a drag to you.

Chouji: Anyway, in the next chapter, we get to meet some hired mercenaries, one or two of which are very familiar to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.

AndrewK9000: Whoa there, Chouji! You don't want to give away too much.

Naruto: Huh? Who is this you're talking about, Chouji?

Chouji: Someone whom you thought were dead, but somehow are alive. And no, Sasuke, it isn't Orochimaru, or Kabuto.

Sasuke: Well that's a relief.

Naruto: But who are these people whom have come back from the grave? Are they perhaps, Zombies?

AndrewK9000: No, absolutely no zombies! I'm saving that for a different fic.

Konohamaru: About time I got to say something. Next chapter; Echoes From The Past

Ebisu: Be sure to leave plenty of well written reviews.


	13. Second Flashback

**Second Flashback**

"Welcome home, Sasuke," Naruto said. It was early evening as the taskforce that he'd put together to capture Sasuke and bring him back to the Hidden Leaf Village stood before said village's gates.

"It took us a lot longer to get home than I'd thought," Ino said.

"I'll say," Chouji moaned, his stomach rumbling like an earthquake.

"Never thought I'd ever come back here," Sasuke said in a slightly depressed tone, "Especially not with you guys bringing me back."

"Glad we could be of assistance," Rock Lee said.

"There's an angry mob waiting for me," Sasuke said, now sounding even more depressed, "On the other side of the gates. They're going to tear me to pieces, I'm sure of it."

"No they're not," Naruto said, "Granny Tsunade said she'd guarantee your safety into the village. There's no angry mob waiting, believe it."

"And if there is," Sakura said, "They'll have to go through me to get to you."

"And the rest of us as well," said Kiba, while Akamaru barked in affirmation, with Shino, Hinata and the others also nodding in agreement.

The gates slowly opened; it seemed like an eternity, but it only took about fifteen seconds. There stood the 5th Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, Tsunade, also known as The Legendary Sucker. With Tsunade was just about every Chûnin and Jônin that didn't go with Naruto, as well as a few visiting Chûnin from various allied Shinobi Villages.

"Sasuke Uchiha," Tsunade said.

"Lady Hokage," Sasuke said.

"You realize, Sasuke," Tsunade said as she held a pair of chakra-infused handcuffs, "That I have to place you under arrest."

"I know," Sasuke said, "I have no intent to resist," he held out his hands to be handcuffed, "I surrender to the authority of this village."

The large group that escorted Sasuke to the Hokage's office only got a few blocks into the village proper, when the first angry residents caught up with them. About a dozen civilians rushed at the escorts. Of course they couldn't get to Sasuke, but they could throw various objects at him, raging from rotten vegetables to rocks.

The small rabble was broken up quickly, but everyone knew that there'd be more to come before the day would be over.

Six other mobs tried to break through the ranks of Shinobi in order to get to Sasuke. Each time they hurled stuff at him, while shouting 'Traitor!!' and other, more insulting curses. And each time Tsunade, Naruto and the other escorts broke up the potential lynching mobs without anyone getting seriously hurt.

Finally they reached the Hokage's office building. Down in the basement a makeshift cell had been assembled. It consisted of the usual iron bars, which had been reinforced with several protective Jutsus; some to keep Sasuke in, others to keep people out.

Sasuke made no protest as he walked into the cell and sat on the cot situated in the middle. Tsunade removed the handcuffs from his wrists, closed the cell door and locked it, the protective Jutsus activating instantly, creating a nearly impenetrable barrier.

"That went better than I thought it would," said Tsunade as she handed the key to her assistant, Shizune.

"I hope things aren't too uncomfortable for you, Sasuke," Shizune said, "We didn't have much time to prepare. But if there's anything you need that'll make things easier for you, just let me know."

"I'm good for now," Sasuke remarked.

"Fair enough," Tsunade said. She and Shizune left the basement, having already ordered that at least four Jônin would be guarding Sasuke at all times. Neji was among the first shift.

"There's still a lot of people who are screaming for Sasuke's head," Neji said.

"That's why we've got you and other high-powered ninjas guarding Sasuke," Naruto said, "For his own protection."

"I'm not worried about being murdered by a lynching mob," Sasuke said, "The village elders are going to have my head on a silver tray."

"Don't say that," Sakura said, "Nobody, not the village elders, not even the Hokage, nobody can order the execution of a prisoner without due process. I checked with Lady Tsunade, the elders can't touch you unless you're found guilty."

"Then I'm already a dead man," Sasuke said in a matter of fact tone, "I'm guilty as sin, you know that, Sakura. They won't have a full jury trial for me. No, the village elders will decide my fate."

"It's true," said Neji, "Tradition dictates that a crime of this magnitude is to be judged by a tribunal of five elders. Once both sides of the case are heard, the enders will decide by majority vote on Sasuke's guilt, and possible punishment."

"Like I said," Sasuke sighed, "I'm already a dead man."

"You're not dead yet," Naruto said, "We're gonna get the best lawyers we can find for your case. And if those stuck-up, self-centered elders still find you guilty, well, they'll have to hang me as well."

"Martyring yourself won't help Sasuke, Naruto," Neji said, "Only a strong defensive argument can convince the elders not to have Sasuke executed, that and evidence proving his innocence."

"Sounds like you just volunteered to be Sasuke's attorney," Sakura said.

"No way!" Neji said in a defensive tone, "It's bad enough that I have to spend my evenings watching Sasuke, so don't try to rope me any further than this."

"Alright already," Naruto said, "We'll just have you come in as a witness or something like that. But who can we trust to defend Sasuke? Shikamaru maybe?"

"Fat chance you'll get his lazy butt to do anything like that," Sakura said, "He's got the brains, but no motivation, so Shikamaru is out of the question. I'm sure Lady Tsunade would be more than happy to defend Sasuke, but the law says that the Hokage has no legal authority over a crime of this magnitude."

"We'll think of something," Sasuke said, "But right now the best thing you two can do for me is go home and get some rest. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

"Besides," Neji said as he checked his watch, "Visiting hours are over."

"Already?" Naruto asked as he checked his watch, "Well, I guess time does fly when you're having fun. We'll be back tomorrow morning, Sasuke."

"Bring some books when you come," Sasuke said, "I've a feeling that I'll be in here for a long time."

"I'll ask Pervy Sake to sign a copy of his latest book," Naruto said.

"I was hoping for something about law and the village legal system," Sasuke said.

"Well I'll get you a copy anyway," Naruto said.

"Gee, thanks a lot," Sasuke said sarcastically.

Sakura didn't offer to bring any books. Instead she kissed Sasuke through the bars, "You won't be in here for long," she said, "I promise, we'll be together."

"I hope so," Sasuke said, "I really do."

"Hope can move mountains," Sakura said. She and Sasuke kissed again, this time it lasted for almost two minutes. They broke contact only for some much needed air.

"As much as I hate to disrupt the romance," Neji said, "You really do need to leave, Sakura."

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving," Sakura said. Just as she and Naruto started up the stairs, she turned around to say, "I love you, Sasuke-Kun."

"I love you, Sakura-Chan," Sasuke replied.

"Out!!" Neji shouted.

"We're going already!" Naruto said. "For crying out loud, he was a pain in the ass back during the Chûnin exam, he's still a pain in the ass today."

"I heard that!!" Neji snapped just as Naruto and Sakura left the basement.

Outside Naruto and Sakura prepared to head back to their respective domiciles. Yet Naruto didn't plan on staying indoors for long. Even though he had eaten his fill of Ramen that morning before he and the others escorted Sasuke back to the village, one could never have enough ramen, or at least that's what Naruto thought.

"Poor Sasuke," Naruto said, "I've heard that prison food can be pretty bad. I'll be sure to send him plenty of the best instant Ramen that money can buy. Or better yet, I'll order him some fresh ramen since Ichiraku is now delivering."

"I'm sure Lady Hokage wouldn't subject Sasuke to such cruel and unusual punishment as prison food," Sakura said. "Anyway, we really should get a good night's sleep. We've got a lot to do to help Sasuke. It'll be several weeks before a proper trial can be arranged, but the sooner we start work on his defense, the better."

Just as Naruto was agreeing with Sakura, he noticed a familiar face approaching the two young Shinobi; a familiar face with a very familiar scar across the bridge of his nose. "Iruka-Sensei!!"

"Naruto! Sakura!" Iruka said, "I heard that you were back, and you brought Sasuke home."

"We sure did," Naruto said, "Now all we got to do is convince the village elders not to have Sasuke killed. But they won't do that, we're gonna have Sasuke um…err…what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Acquitted," Sakura said.

"Yeah, that's it!" Naruto said, "We'll have Sasuke free in no time, believe it!!"

"You know what," Iruka said, "Coming from you, I do believe it, Naruto. And maybe the whole village would believe it, especially after what happened."

"What do you mean, Iruka-Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Well it was your plan that brought Sasuke back to the village, Naruto," Iruka said, "I'm sure that you had help, a lot of help. But to the village, you're the one who captured a traitor and brought him back to face justice. Word travels fast, by now everyone knows what you did. You're the man of the hour, Naruto, you're a real hero now."

"A real hero?" Naruto asked, not completely comprehending Iruka's words.

"Indeed," Iruka said.

Iruka spoke the truth. As Naruto made his way towards the Ichiraku, several villagers he passed shouted sincere words of congratulations, esteem and appreciation.

"You the man, Naruto!"

"Awesome job, Naruto!"

"Way to strike a blow for justice!"

"We knew you could do it, Naruto!"

It felt strange to Naruto, all this positive emotion directed at him. After spending most of life being ignored or scorned by the people of his village, when nearly everyone treated him like dirt, and sometimes even less than dirt, to now be treated with respect and admiration, it was strange, and a little frightening.

But on the other hand, this is what Naruto had always wanted; respect and admiration. Already he had the respect and friendship of his fellow Shinobi, especially from Sakura, Shikamaru and the others from his age group, as well as a good number of other ninjas in the village. Being on good terms with Garra and his fellow Sand Ninjas also helped. And now Naruto was a hero to the people of the Hidden Leaf Village. Finally, he was earning true respect.

As Naruto contemplated his new respected status, he was so lost in this thoughts, he failed to sense that he was being followed. Hinata stood just around the corner, beyond Naruto's field of vision. Her heart ached to tell Naruto how she felt about him, yet Hinata's lack of confidence had gotten the better of her once again.

She so desperately wanted to talk to Naruto; to tell him that she truly cares about him. She had always respected Naruto as a ninja, that was certain. And the fact that she also had a crush on him since way back in the academy only reinforced Hinata's feelings for Naruto.

At one point Hinata almost worked up the courage to try and talk to Naruto, yet just one look at Naruto walking down the street, his shoulders heavy with unfamiliar feelings, Hinata lost her nerve and backed away.

She would try again when he was in a better mood, she thought. She could wait. After all, patience has always been one of Hinata's stronger virtues. But how much longer she could put it off, just how far her patience could stretch, Hinata didn't know. Or maybe she was afraid to know.


	14. Chapter 11: Echoes from the Past

**Chapter 11: Echoes From the Past**

"What's wrong, Naruto-Kun?" Hinata asked.

It has been five days since Silas Dubois' failed coup. Things were returning to normal in the capital, yet the atmosphere was still tense. Word from the west spoke that the host of Manos was finally on the move, heading straight for Andalasia with intent to destroy all who stands in its way.

Yet there was still hope. The dark army of Manos, now well over 160,000 strong, was still hundreds of miles away. An army that size would take weeks to reach Andalasia, so there was still time, not much time, but still time to prepare

So this evening, the two young Shinobi had decided to spend a few precious hours to themselves. Henry and Elaine had told Naruto and Hinata about a super romantic spot in the woods near the city, and this is where we find the two young Shinobi watching the stars come out.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, "What do you mean, Hinata-Chan?"

"You've been oddly quiet the past few days," said Hinata, "Since we stopped Silas and his minions from taking over the kingdom. It's like something's bothering you."

"What, bothering me?" Naruto asked, "I'm perfectly fine, Hinata-Chan."

"Well something's bothering you," said Hinata, "The only time you've been this quiet is when you've got something serious on your mind. So what's bothering you? Is it that the enemy is on the move?"

"No," said Naruto, "We've still got time before that creep Manos gets to Andalasia."

"Well are you worried about the training of the new army?" Hinata asked.

"I couldn't be more happier with the new army," said Naruto, "Chouji, Neji and Bushy Brows are really whipping the recruits into shape."

"Then what's wrong?" Hinata asked, "You can tell me anything, Naruto-Kun, anything."

"It's kind of personnel," said Naruto.

"Well if you'd rather not talk about it," said Hinata, "I'll understand."

"No," said Naruto, "It's alright. What's bothering me, is that, well, we've been in Andalasia for a while now, and I've yet to find a restaurant or bakery that makes halfway decent ramen noodles."

"Ramen noodles," said Hinata. Coming from anyone else, this would have been very silly and stupid to Hinata. But since this is Naruto we're talking about, it's a very serious matter.

"Didn't you bring several packs of instant ramen from home?" Hinata asked.

"I did," said Naruto, "But it's just not the same. There's just no beating ramen from the Ichiraku." He sighed, but then sat bolt upright, as if he had a really great idea. "Say, Hinata-Chan, did I ever tell you about the time Sakura, Chouji and I saved the daughter of the Ichiraku owner from a bunch of ninja chefs?"

…the next morning…

"Has anyone seen Naruto?" Henry asked, "We've got a full morning ahead of us."

"Last I saw of him," said Neji, "He, Sakura, Chouji and Hinata were heading for the palace kitchens."

Henry then made his way to the kitchens, where he saw Hinata watching Naruto, Sakura and Chouji as they gathered several bags of flour, several dozen eggs and a lot of other pasta ingredients. A large quantity of flour and eggs were already placed on the kitchen counter, while Chouji poured a measure of water on the ingredients

"There you are," said Henry, "We've got an appointment with some combat engineers this morning, then we've got to review some mercenary applicants."

"That can wait," said Naruto, "This is much more important, believe it! You ready, Sakura? Chouji?"

"You betcha!" said Sakura eagerly.

"Ready, willing and able!" said Chouji.

"Okay then," said Naruto, "Hinata, Henry, get ready to see how Shinobi prepare ramen noodles!" he made his hand signs, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" with a puff of smoke, a lone copy of Naruto appeared beside the real one. The two Naruto's began charging up a Rasengan attack.

"What is he doing!?" Henry asked, "He can't possibly be doing _that_ in the middle of the palace, can he?!"

"Just relax, Henry," said Sakura as the two Naruto's finished charging up the blue spiral ball of chakra, "This is so cool."

"Rasengan!" exclaimed the real Naruto as the clone vanished, "Ichiraku version!!" He slammed the chakra ball onto the pile of flour, eggs and water, which soon began spinning with the spin of the Rasengan.

"What is this?" asked a confused Henry.

"I get it," said Hinata, "He's using the chakra to mix the ingredients."

After several seconds the chakra ball had mixed the flour, eggs, water and other ingredients into a large lump of dough.

"That's it for step one," said Naruto as he began shaping the dough, which soon began to take on the shape of a human head and face, "Sakura!" the shaped dough was now shaped in a strikingly accurate likeness of Itachi Uchiha, "Step two!"

"That dirty bastard Itachi!!" exclaimed an infuriated Sakura, her eyes blazing with rage, "He ruined Sasuke's childhood! He must pay!!"

While Sakura was ranting, Naruto had gathered the dough in a cloth bag and placed it on a large, reinforced metal table. He jumped out of the way as Sakura began pounding the cloth bag with all her might. The table, reinforced to hold several tones, was beginning to buckle under Sakura's intense barrage of fists.

"Gods!" said Henry, "She's so strong!"

"That intense pounding," said Hinata, "Sakura will have that dough evenly kneaded in no time. But why did Naruto shape the dough like that?"

"To get Sakura properly motivated," said Chouji, "My part is next, so stand back."

By now Sakura had beaten the table into a twisted hulk of scrap metal, while the dough was kneaded to an inch of its life.

"That's good, Sakura!" said Naruto as he grabbed the dough from its bag, "Chouji!"

"Ready!!" said Chouji, "Partial Expansion Jutsu! Both arms!!" With that his arms grew to several times their normal size. Naruto tossed the dough to Chouji, who caught it and began twisting and whipping the dough around, until it had stretched and formed several feet of noodles.

"And that's how Shinobi make Ramen noodles," said Naruto.

"You call this a good reason to put the war effort on hold?" Henry asked, "You really are a knucklehead, Naruto!"

"Just wait until you taste the noodles," said Naruto as Sakura and Chouji began cooking the noodles, "You won't believe your tongue, believe it!"

A short time later they were having a late breakfast out on one of the balconies, "I have to admit it, Naruto," said Henry between noodle slurps, "This is great ramen."

"Told you so," smirked Naruto as he slurped down more noodles.

Just then there was a loud crack, like ice breaking in the distance.

"What was that?" Sakura asked.

"That," said Henry, "Is what we're late for. Come."

They made their way to the training grounds, where Neji, Sasuke and Shikamaru talking to a group of military engineers, one of which was holding a weapon that Naruto had never seen before, but Sakura had, or at least read about.

"Is that a musket?" Sakura asked.

"It is indeed," said one of the engineers. He was wearing blue and green robes with a red and gold sash, "A gift from the far east."

"This is Davis Jin," said Sasuke, "Lead Combat Engineer of Andalasia."

"The pleasure is mine," said Jin as he shook Naruto's hand, "Hopefully this and others like it will help save the kingdom." On a nearby folding rack were several more muskets

"So do these muskrats work?" Naruto asked.

"They're called muskets," said Shikamaru, "Get your words straight, honestly."

"Whatever," said Naruto, "So how do you use them?" he awkwardly held one of the muskets with the metal tube pointing down, "It looks more like a club."

"Technically you can use the stock as a secondary weapon," said Jin, "And you can attach a special knife to the barrel, a blade called a bayonet. But more on that later, first things first."

He picked up another musket; "First you pour a small measure of gunpowder into the barrel. Then you place a small square of cloth over the mouth of the barrel. This cloth is called wading. After that you place one of these on the wading," he held out a small led ball that was slightly smaller than the barrel, "This is a shot. You then use this metal stick attacked to the barrel, called a ramrod, to ram the shot and wading down the barrel as far as it will go, making sure that the powder, wading and shot, is tightly packed against each other.

Jin then indicated the piece of flint at the end of the barrel, "This is the flintlock. You then pull it back partway to what is called the halfcocked position. You then pour a pinch of powder into the pan beneath the flint, then pull the flintlock back as far as it will go. You're now primed and ready to fire. You then place the stock between your shoulder and chest. You aimed along the sights at whatever you're trying to hit, hold your breath and pull the trigger. You got that?"

"Uh…" said Naruto, "What'd you say that metal stick was called?"

After three more explanations, Naruto had finally got the loading sequence right and was ready to try out shooting the musket.

"Just aim and pull the trigger," said Jin, "But don't expect to hit the target the first time. It takes a lot of practice, not to mention that muskets aren't very accurate beyond 50 yards or so."

"In that case I'd better get closer," said Naruto, who happened to be standing just over 100 yards from the target. When he was less than 40 yards from the target, Naruto raised the musket to his shoulder, aimed along the sights at the center of the target and pulled the trigger. The flint slammed down against the pan and powder, producing a bright flash which ignited the powder in the barrel, which propelled the shot out of the barrel with a loud 'BANG!'

Being that this was his first attempt at musket shooting, Naruto was completely caught off guard at the flash of burning powder. Combined with the recoil of the musket, Naruto was naturally knocked off balance.

"Damn!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Kicks like a mule, doesn't it?" Jin asked.

"That flash," said Naruto, "It really blew my mind."

"I know," said Jin, "Most soldiers using muskets find that a problem. In battle they would sometimes close their eyes to avoid being blinded by the flash, which naturally cuts down on accuracy. Speaking of which, let's see how you did."

They all went over to the target, which had a hole in it on the outer edge of the circle. "Not too bad," said Jin, "Most soldiers can't even get it on the target paper their first time."

"No offense," said Naruto as he handed the musket back to Jin, "But I think I'll stick with shuriken and kuni."

"None taken," said Jin, "The musket isn't for everyone."

"I'll give it a try," said Neji. A minute or so later he was at the 50 yard line, locked and loaded. He aimed and shot a bull's-eye the first time.

"Impressive," said Jin, "But how about at 100 yards?"

"I'll do one better," said Neji as he walked back to 150 feet from the target. He reloaded, hefted the musket, aimed at the target and pulled the trigger. The shot was true and hit the bull's-eye exactly in the middle.

"Hot damn!!" exclaimed Davis, "You cut dead center! And at 150 yards!!"

"Incredible," said Henry, "How did you do that?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Neji asked.

"Of course," said Henry.

"So can I," said Neji.

Yet Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and everyone else from Konohagakure knew how Neji managed such a terrific shot from such a distance. The fact that Neji possessed the Byakugan is one of the Hidden Leaf Village's less kept secrets.

"Not a bad weapon," said Sasuke, "But I don't see how a handful of these muskets can change the course of a war."

"Maybe not just a few," said Jin, "But imagine several hundred of these little wonders going off at once at an onrushing hoard of enemy soldiers. That'll be a shock to their system."

"This might just be what we need to gain an edge over Manos," said Henry, "How soon can you deliver a large quantity of muskets?"

"Depends on how many you want," said Jin, "And how soon you want them."

"The sooner the better," said Henry, "And I think two hundred, no, make that two hundred and fifty will do for now."

"I can have that number delivered in less than a week," said Jin, "I just need to negotiate the price with my suppliers in the east."

"Let me worry about the financial transaction," said Henry, "You just set up the deal."

"You really think these things can help stop Manos?" Naruto asked.

"Maybe," said Sakura, "Muskets really aren't appropriate weapons for Shinobi, they're too loud and take forever to reload."

"They're better off in the hands of a standing army," said Sasuke.

"Indeed," said Neji.

"Well this has been a real joy ride," said Shikamaru in his usual bored tone, "Love to stay and play, but we've got mercenaries to interview."

When the call to arms went out in Andalasia, another call went out, but this one was the sound of potential money to be made. War always attracts those willing to risk their lives for some quick cash.

So far quiet a few hired swords had been taken on by the individual nobles of Andalasia to bolster the ranks of their personal guards. But today the mercenaries were looking for employment among the royal army of Andalasia.

The trouble was that Henry didn't want just any hired killers in his army. No, he wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be anyone who would turn traitor in the event that things got too messy, or were in fact working for Manos all along.

"What a motley collection of cutthroats, thieves and overall scum," said Henry, "You really think we'll find honest fighters among this rabble?"

"One can only hope," said Sasuke.

As Naruto observed the mercenary ranks, two particular faces caught his eye. He walked closer to get a better look at whom he saw, but as he got closer to the mercenaries, his curiosity grew to _cold_ dread. **(pun intended)**

_It can't be!! _Naruto thought, _It can't be them! They're both dead!!_

The first mercenary that caused Naruto's dread looked a few years older than him. He wore a blue and green stealth outfit. His face had a somewhat feminine look, amplified by his long black hair that was secured by two long hair needles.

The second mercenary was tall, about Kakashi's height, and looked to be in his late 30's to early 40's. He had short, spiky black hair that was graying around the edges. He wore black pants and a gray sleeveless vest. Strapped to his back was a huge sword.

"Kami preserve us!" gasped Sakura, for she had just seen the two mercenaries that Naruto saw.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Sasuke asked. He then saw those whom Naruto and Sakura were looking at. "No! It's impossible!"

Just then the younger of the pair noticed that Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were gaping at them like they were ghosts. "Oh," said the boy with the needles in his hair, "Look's who's here, Zabuza."

"Huh?" asked Zabuza, the tall man with the sword, who happened to be one of the legendary Seven Swordsmen of The Mist, "Well I'll be damned, again. Who would have thought we'd run into those three again, Haku."

"Indeed," said Haku, a Shinobi who possesses a Kekkei Genkai over ice. He walked over to our three heroes, "It has been a while since the Land of Waves, Naruto Uzumaki."

"It certainly has," said Naruto, who was obviously shocked to see his first real enemies from his first real mission outside the village. Yet Naruto maintained his composure.

"Wait just a damned minute here!" exclaimed Sakura, "You, Haku, you and Zabuza are supposed to be dead!"

"Are we?" Haku asked.

"You sure are supposed to be dead," said Naruto, "That day on the bridge, I saw you take that Chidori attack that Kakashi-Sensei meant for Zabuza. And then Zabuza got stabbed to death by all those rouge samurai. I was there, you both died!"

"I was there too!" said Sakura, "And so was Sasuke!"

"Indeed," said Sasuke. In truth, Sasuke was half dead and unconscious from his injuries inflicted by Haku's Crystal Ice Mirror Jutsu. "However," Sasuke continued, "Everyone assumed that their bodies were disposed of, but it was never truly confirmed. I would like to know what happened to the two of them."

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you, Sasuke Uchiha," said Zabuza, "But let's just say that fate refused to allow Haku and I to rest in peace. We still live, as you can see."

"Well, I guess I'm glad that you're alright," said a still slightly confused Naruto, "But what are you two doing in Andalasia?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Haku asked, "Zabuza and I are mercenaries. We go where there's money to be made, and right now, there's plenty of money to be made in this kingdom."

"You should consider yourselves lucky," said Zabuza, "Haku and I could have sided with Manos."

"Lucky us," said Sasuke.

"I just remembered," said Naruto, "Zabuza, you were one of The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, right? So, any idea on the whereabouts of Kisame?"

"I'd like to know that as well," said Sasuke, for Kisame, like Itachi, is part of the Akatsuki, and where Kisame is, Itachi is sure to be close by.

"I haven't had contact with Kisame or any of the Mist Swordsmen in years," said Zabuza, "Not since the group dissolved. But should I ever see Kisame again, it will be my pleasure to take his head."

"Okay," said Naruto, "Well, we're glad to have you."

"We're glad to be here," said Haku. With that he and Zabuza left with the rest of the mercenaries.

"Am I the only one who's freaked out that they're still alive?" Sasuke asked.

"You're not alone," said Sakura

...Meanwhile…

"Lord Manos," said the officer, "Silas Dubois has arrived."

"Has he now," said Manos in an irritated tone, obviously displeased to have his meditations interrupted for something so trivial, "Send him in."

The officer saluted and left the tent. About ten seconds later Silas came in, looking very worse for wear. Having recently lost his arm was only part of the problem; the former Andalasian noble was looking rather gaunt from his harsh journey towards the encroaching horde.

"Master," said Silas as he got on his knees, "I am unworthy to look upon your face."

"Indeed you are unworthy," said Manos, "You have gravely disappointed me, Silas Dubois. I told you to assist Francine and her Marauders in spreading fear and chaos among the Andalasian sheep, not to attempt a hostile takeover of the kingdom. Andalasia is mine!"

"I know, Master," said a groveling Silas, "I allowed my personal greed and selfishness to cloud my faith in the true master of the world. Please forgive me."

"Forgiveness," said Manos, the word carried no care from his voice, "Why should I forgive a worm like you? You, who would sell out his homeland and sovereign? You, who would take the life of an innocent girl, just because she rejected you? You, who cannot follow the simplest of instructions? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you outright."

"Please, Master!!" exclaimed Silas as he prostrated himself before Manos, "I am your most loyal acolyte! I have served you faithfully all my life; dutifully awaiting your return. Do no slay me for one small failure! It wasn't my fault! The Shinobi, they…"

"I know all about the Shinobi that that fool, Prince Henry, has allied himself with. You should count yourself fortunate that you did not directly face the ninja who destroyed poor Francine. Now that one, the one with the spirit of The Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside him, now he would be someone worth meeting. Then again, that boy is a thorn in my side, one that should be removed before it gets in any deeper."

"Let me destroy the boy, Master," said Silas, "Give me the opportunity to prove my worth! I shall inspire fear and chaos among the fools in Andalasia, by killing their so-called hero."

"That would definitely accomplish that goal," said Manos, "But look at you, Silas, you're a wreck. We'll have to do something about that, yes we will."

"Then, you will give me my revenge?" Silas asked, his voice and expression brimming with insane hope, "You will allow me to destroy the Shinobi and wreck havoc among the kingdom? In your name of course."

"In my name," said Manos, "Yes. Swear, in my name, that you will destroy those who would oppose me. Swear that you will bring Andalasia to it's knees in fear of their true god."

"I swear," said Silas, "In the name of the true master of the world, I will do as you ask and more. I swear in your name, Manos!"

"Then so be it," said Manos, "Rise, Silas. Rise and receive the my blessing!"

Silas struggled to his feet, having to rely on one arm to stand up and keep his balance was rather hard for the disgraced noble. Finally he was standing up.

"By the everlasting darkness, grant this faithful servant the power he desires," said Manos as he raised his arms to the cloud enshrouded heavens, "May he be given the power to carry out the will of his master. May he be given the power to destroy all who would stand in his way!" Manos then began chanting in an ancient language once spoken only by creatures of pure evil.

Silas was then surprised to find his body was glowing with a purple light that soon enveloped him. The light faded after about five minutes, during which Manos kept chanting. When the dark wizard had finished and the light faded, there stood a very shocked and awed Silas Dubois.

Not only had the disgraced noble discovered that his missing arm had grown back, but his whole body had been transformed. He was at least a foot and a half taller than he was before, as well as much more muscular. His whole body felt like it was brimming with energy.

"You'll find that not only are you much more physically stronger," said Manos as he conjured a full length mirror for Silas to admire his new body, "But I've also increased your magical prowess by a factor of four. I'm confident that you'll be more than a match for any Andalasian mage."

"Oh, Master," said a still awed Silas, "This is more than I could ever ask for. How can I ever thank you?"

"By doing as I asked," said Manos, "Destroy the Shinobi infidels and bring terror to the people of Andalasia. Oh, before I forget, there's one or two more items I need to point out."

"I know," said Silas, "Clare Rachuba, she shall be delivered to you, I shall bring the girl to your tent myself."

"I'm sure you would, but there's one more thing. Natalie Orison, I…"

"No!" snapped Silas, "You cannot have her! Natalie is mine!!"

"I beg your pardon?" Manos asked.

"Natalie is mine, I tell you!" said Silas, "I want her, she's mine. I know what you'll do to her; well you can't have Natalie's soul! She is mine, in body _and_ soul!!"

"I never said I wanted her soul," said Manos, "I want her head."

"What!?!" asked a shocked Silas.

"You heard me," said Manos, "Along with Clare, you are to deliver to me the head of the girl you so desperately covet. Yes, Silas, this is your punishment for disobeying my orders."

"No!" spat Silas, "I will not slay Natalie! She is my key to the throne of Andalasia!!"

"I told you!!" exclaimed Manos, his voice magically amplified to sound like the howling of a storm, "Andalasia is mine!! And before you protest further, Silas, know that it was easy to reform your body. Your new powers are a gift that I bestowed upon you, but I can just as easily take them away. Look…"

Silas turned to face the mirror and saw himself as he was a few minutes ago; crippled and dishelmed. But then the image on the mirror became that of which Silas feared the most; old, infirmed, repulsive, filthy, destitute.

"No!!" wailed Silas, "Not that! Not that!! I'll do whatever you want!! I'll bring back Natalie's head! Just don't do that to me!!"

"Excellent," said Manos. he released the illusion on the mirror, causing Silas' reflection to return to normal. The disgraced noble sighed with relief as his appearance became more likable.

"Now that we're past the unpleasantness," said Manos, "Go forth, Silas, and carry out your master's bidding."

"I will not fail you, Master," said Silas as he prostrated himself again. He then got back up and left the tent.

"Pathetic worm," sighed Manos, "You just can't find good help these days."

Manos then sat down in front of his black fire and began his meditations again, when another officer came in the tent.

"Forgive the intrusion, Lord Manos," said the officer, "But…"

"But what!?" snapped Manos, sounding rather irked that his meditations have been interrupted again, "This had better be good."

"I'm sure it is, Master," said the officer, "The representatives from the Akatsuki have arrived."

"Is that so," said Manos in a more calmer tone, "Well then, send them in."

The officer bowed and left the tent. A minute or so later he came back in with two Shinobi wearing black and red robes, err, smocks, whatever it is that the Akatsuki wear. Anyway, the first had shoulder length black hair, pale skin and a lines around his eyes that held the familiar red and black Sharingan.

The second had short, spiky blue hair and blue skin with gills on his face that gave him the appearance of a shark. On his back was a large sword wrapped in cloth.

"Itachi Uchiha," said Manos, acknowledging the one with the Sharingan eyes, "Formerly of the Uchiha Clan." Manos then faced the one with the shark attributes, "And Kisame, formerly of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

"Lord Manos," said Itachi as he bowed, while Kisame only nodded his head in partial respect, "I thank you for your time."

"I thank you for coming to visit me," said Manos, "Would you and your companion care for some refreshments before we discuss whatever business brought you to my home away from home?"

"We would indeed," said Itachi as several servants brought in chairs, a table, a wine pitcher and three goblets.

"Now," said Manos as a servant poured the wine, "What shall we drink to?"

"To love on ones own terms," said Itachi as he and Kisame raised their goblets, "For that is the only love a man can truly accept."

"Indeed," said Kisame.

"Well spoken," said Manos. With that they drank the wine, "Now then, to business; to what honor do I owe a visit from the Akatsuki?"

"My associates and I," said Itachi, "Are well aware of your plans for the kingdom of Andalasia. We are also aware that you intend to lay claim to the five Shinobi Nations, and after that the whole world."

"If you're worried about your organization coming into conflict with me," said Manos, "I can assure you, I won't trouble the Akatsuki if the Akatsuki doesn't bother me."

"We're prepared if events lead to such a conflict," said Itachi, "No, what brings Kisame and myself to your tent, Manos, is Naruto Uzumaki."

"And who would that be?" Manos asked, "Oh wait, I know, he's that Shinobi brat who thinks he can inspire hope among the sheep of Andalasia. Well I can promise you this, Itachi Uchiha, the boy is as good as dead."

"You misunderstand," said Itachi, "We, the Akatsuki, we want Naruto alive. He has something we desire greatly."

"Ah," said Manos, as if finally understanding but in a tone that said that he knew all along, "You are referring to the demon spirit sealed inside the boy's body, The Nine-Tailed Fox."

"Indeed," said Itachi, "We are prepared to negotiate with you in hopes of securing the boy for our needs."

"Now there's the problem," said Manos, "Two problems in fact. First, I want the boy to die, and I want him to suffer greatly as he watches his friends and loved ones suffer and die. If I were to hand the boy over to the Akatsuki, then _I_ won't be able to make him suffer, and I wish to make him suffer for a minimum of two weeks before he finally expires.

"The second problem, is that I know that the Akatsuki are collecting Jinchuuriki, humans who serve as vessels for demon spirits. I know that you are taking the demons from their hosts and using them for your own bid for world domination.

"This I cannot allow, for if I were to let you have Naruto Uzumaki and take his demon, the Akatsuki would become that much more powerful, and therefore be that much more of a problem when I take my rightful place as the true master of the world."

"Oh really?" Itachi asked, "Well I guess that's where we differ. We will claim the Nine-Tailed Fox, one way or another."

"This is pointless!" snapped Kisame, "This guy Manos isn't going to cooperate, so let's just kill him already!"

"Before you draw your chakra absorbing sword, Kisame," said Manos, who wasn't at all intimidated by the menacing shark-faced Shinobi, "I'd like you to remember that you and Itachi are surrounded by an army of highly trained professional soldiers obedient to my every command. By the time you are ready to run me through, not only will I have teleported out of harms way, both of you will be fighting for your lives. I'm sure you can handle yourselves against several hundred, maybe even thousands, but I'll wager that you'll run out of chakra and fighting energy before you can escape.

"On the other hand, instead of wasting valuable soldiers on eradicating you two, I can show you the power of a living god. With a word I could make your heads explode, or I could polymorph you into cockroaches or some other form of vermin. Or maybe I could force you in body and mind to serve me. One can never have too many slaves."

"You overestimate yourself, Manos," said Itachi. His eyes then changed, the Sharingan marks morphing into spikes, "And you underestimate us! Mangekyo Sharingan!!"

"Oh please," said Manos in a carefree tone, "It'll take more than that to trap my mind in a living nightmare. I've seen things that would leave even the likes of Orochimaru catatonic. Oh, before I forget, I already know that you two aren't really here. I knew that you Akatsuki can manipulate the bodies of others from afar. It'll take more than a high-level Genjutsu to fool me."

"He knows a lot," said Kisame, "For a second rate wizard."

"He knows enough," said Itachi as his eyes returned to the regular Sharingan, "So be it. We shall leave Naruto to you."

"I knew you'd understand," said Manos as Itachi and Kisame stood up, "I wish you both a pleasant journey, and I look forward to the day when you and the Akatsuki acknowledge as your true god."

"And I look forward to the day when we meet again under more favorable conditions," said Itachi, "Good day." With that he and Kisame left the tent.

"I should have killed those two," said Manos to himself in an idle tone, "Or at least brainwashed them. Oh well, I will deal with them later, once Andalasia is mine. And anyway, I do believe that Itachi will soon have something to keep himself occupied with before too long. The fool, he should have realized that his cup was cursed, a non-fatal curse, but not a pleasant one, you can be sure of that. Ah, the pleasures of magic."

With a wave of his hand an image of Naruto appeared in the air above the center of the tent. "Naruto Uzumaki," said Manos, "I'm looking forward to meeting you in person. Oh yes, I am looking forward to meeting you."

The end of chapter 11.

Naruto: Man, this Manos guy is nuts!

Sakura: You can say that again, Naruto.

Naruto: Man, this Manos guy is nuts!

Sakura: I didn't really mean for you to say it again.

Naruto: Then why did you say it?

Sakura: It was a figure of speech! You can be such a knucklehead, Naruto!

Naruto: Well that's what you get for saying things and not really meaning them.

Shikamaru: They could be a while.

Tenten: Next chapter, 'Delayed! A Traitor Returns.'

Chouji: Be sure to leave lot's of great reviews.


	15. Chapter 12: Delayed! A Traitor Returns!

**Chapter 12: Delayed! A Traitor Returns**

"You sure you want to do this, Natalie?" Kiba asked.

"I'm absolutely sure, Sir Kiba," said Natalie, "I'm ready."

"You really want to do it now?" Kiba asked.

"You bet your head I want it," said Natalie, "Right here, right now. You promised to do it with me, and I've waited long enough."

"Okay then," said Kiba, "But I've got to warn you, I can be a little rough."

"Oh I like it rough," said Natalie eagerly, "The rougher the better. Let's get it on!"

"My thoughts exactly," said Kiba as he and Natalie took up fighting positions, "defend yourself, princess!"

After the failed coup of Silas Dubois, Kiba had promised to teach Natalie some more advanced fighting techniques so she could better protect herself in emergencies. But with the ever encroaching hoard from the west drawing near, combined with the hectic schedules of getting the kingdom ready for war, the young Shinobi was hard pressed to find enough time to be with the girl he was falling for, not to mention training her in self defense.

But finally, after several days of booked schedules for both of them, Natalie and Kiba managed to find a few hours where they could be together and get some work done.

So far Natalie had the basics down flat in terms of disabling an opponent armed with a knife, as well as getting out of a choke hold from multiple angles, and of course she already knew where to hit a man in just the right spot, Silas Dubois could attest to that. This was good, but there was always more to learn.

Today Kiba was showing Natalie the fundamentals of hand-to-hand grappling. Now Kiba had the advantage in physical power, but Natalie possessed a natural grace that allowed her to dodge Kiba's attacks.

"You're pretty good at this," said Kiba, "For a beginner."

"And for a professional," said Natalie as she dodged another strike, "You're not as tough as you seem," she slinked behind Kiba and tapped the back of his head, "One for me."

"Not to shabby," said Kiba as he threw another practice punch at Natalie, meaning only to tap her head, and again missing, "But there's one thing you've forgotten."

"Oh," said Natalie as she dodged a low kick, "And what's that, Kiba darling?"

"I am not left handed!" During the sparing session, Kiba had been using a southpaw strategy, plus the fact that he had been taking it rather easy on Natalie. Now he shifted his attack style, focusing with his right hand and uping the pace of the session.

Natalie was having trouble keeping up with Kiba's attacks now, barely dodging his strikes. At one point she moved to avoid a low kick, but it was only a feint; Kiba then got behind Natalie and tapped her on the head, "One for me. That's another thing you can use in self defense, Natalie, sometimes a matter of life or death can be decided by drawing your opponent's attention elsewhere."

"Cunning as well as wise," said Natalie, "I'm liking you more and more, Kiba darling. Shall we continue?"

Elsewhere in the palace a more serious discussion was taking place, and when this writer means serious, he means grave.

"As near as we can estimate," said Neji, "Manos and his hoard will reach the western border in twelve days. And according to the latest logistics reports, the new Army of Andalasia won't be ready for battle until two days later."

"What!?!" exclaimed Naruto, "I thought you said we had weeks before the baddies got here! What happened?! Did you screw up with the numbers, Neji?"

"My calculations were correct," said Neji as he struggled to hold in his annoyance, "The army's preparations are on schedule. But apparently the forces of Manos are moving a lot faster than we believed they could. I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience to your ego, Naruto, but we just don't have as much time as we did before."

"Then we'll just have to make the time," said Henry as he was going over a highly detailed map of western Andalasia, particularly the area displaying the border.

"Were are we going to get two extra days?" Ino asked, "We're Shinobi, not miracle workers."

"We'll need more than two days," said Sasuke, "Once the army is prepared, we need to gather the troop units and march then to wherever we're going to fight Manos. It looks like we're going to need four more days instead of two."

"_Four_ days?!" exclaimed Naruto, "Manos will have half the kingdom overrun by then, if not more, believe it!"

"Not if we can keep him out of the kingdom until the army is ready," said Henry as he kept looking at the map.

"I think I know what you're planning," said Shikamaru as he joined Henry at the map, his hands in his usual thinking posture, "You want to force Manos into attacking one spot, an area where his numbers will count for nothing."

"Exactly," said Henry, "The western border is mostly mountains and valleys. If we destroy all the roads and passes except one, Manos will have no choice but to attack that spot. He'll want to get his forces inside Andalasia as soon as possible, and the delay of clearing a road would be unacceptable to him."

"A good plan," said Shikamaru, "But where will we make our stand? It would have to be an easily defendable spot, where a handful can hold off thousands for an extended amount of time."

"There," said Henry as he pointed to a spot on the map; a small dot marked between two tedious looking mountain ranges. "That pass is barely wide enough to allow a few hundred abreast to cross at a time, and they have to be really skinny to boot. But first they have to get past the fortress my great-great grandfather built for just such an emergency. If we can draw Manos and his hoard to that area, we can funnel his army into a death trap."

"One that could possibly break its spirit," said Sasuke as he looked at the map, "A few days of attacking an impossible position would shatter the spirit of any army, no matter what kind of control Manos has over his minions."

"There's just one problem with that plan," said Sakura, "Manos is sure to have a lot of cannons with his army. A fortress, no matter how strong, won't last long against a barrage of artillery."

"Leave that to us," said Neji, "I knew we'd have a use for all that dynamite sooner or later. Henry, while you and the others destroy the western roads and passes, and get the fortress ready, I and my team will go west and perform some sabotage."

"I'm sure Bushy Brows would appreciate that," said Naruto.

Over at the training grounds, Rock Lee was leading a squad through advanced martial arts practice, when he violently sneezed twice.

"Is everything alright, Lee Sensei?" one of the soldiers asked.

"I'm fine," said Rock Lee, "But I have the strangest sensation that someone is talking about me."

Back in the war room Henry, Neji and Sasuke continued discussing the plan for the battle. "I estimate that Tenten, Lee and I will reach the position of Manos' hoard with several days to spare," said Neji, "By then I'm confident that all the roads and passes on the western border will have been destroyed, all except the chosen one."

"I can guarantee that this pass will be the only one left open for Manos and his minions," said Henry, "And we'll have the fortress ready for an extended siege. Just make sure you and your team have destroyed all of Manos' cannons."

"How can we be sure that Manos will go to this pass?" Sakura asked, "What's stopping him from digging out another pass or road? Besides his ego."

"You're right, Sakura," said Sasuke, "Manos is sure to have a large team of engenders at his disposal. No matter how well blocked a mountain pass or road is, it would only delay Manos a week at the most to get the way cleared."

"So the question is," said Henry, "How do we get Manos to attack where we want him to?"

"We give him a rabbit to chase," said Naruto, "Neji, when you, Tenten and Bushy Brows sabotage the enemy cannons, would it be so hard to allow yourselves to be seen? And then leave a trail for the baddies to follow, back to the fortress?"

"It wouldn't be hard at all," said Neji, "In fact, it's too easy. It's so stupid, it might just work; get Manos so angry that he'll have no choice but to follow us into the trap."

"My idea isn't stupid," muttered Naruto.

"Well I think it's brilliant, Naruto," said Sakura, "And if you and Hinata weren't an item, I'd kiss you."

"Well, in that case," said Naruto slyly, "I'm sure Hinata wouldn't mind sharing me, Sakura, so what's stopping you from kissing me?"

"Ahem!!" said Sasuke loudly.

"Oh," said a slightly embarrassed Naruto, "Sorry, Sasuke."

"You really are a knucklehead, Naruto," sighed Shikamaru.

"He is indeed," said Neji.

"If you're done acting like fools," said Henry, "I suggest we get this plan in motion. I'll send orders to destroy the western roads and passes along the border, and to fortify the fortress for siege."

"I'll go fetch Tenten and Lee," said Neji, "We'll head out in an hour."

"By the way," said Sakura, "What's the name of the fortress?"

"Hadrian's Deep," said Henry, "Named after my great-great grandfather, Hadrian Orison."

"Hadrian's Deep," said Sasuke, "A fitting name for a place to make a stand."

"By the way, where is Natalie?" Henry asked, "I haven't seen her since breakfast."

"Last I heard," said Naruto, "She and Kiba were going somewhere to get physical, if you know what I mean."

"What!?" exclaimed Henry, "What!?! WHAT!!?!!"

"Oh man!" laughed Naruto, "The look on your face, it was priceless."

"Naruto you _baka_!" spat Sakura as she bonked Naruto on the head, hard.

"I was just trying to get a rise out of Henry," whined Naruto as he clutched his assaulted head, "Just for a laugh, that's all."

"Well maybe I don't feel like laughing," said Henry in an irate tone, "Now where is my sister?"

"She and Kiba are together," said Neji, "But nothing too intimate. He is helping her improve her self defense prowess."

"Oh," said Henry, "Alright then."

"It wouldn't hurt you laugh a bit," muttered Naruto, "Or at least to crack a smile."

"I'll smile when this is all over," said Henry, "Believe it."

"Hey!" exclaimed Naruto, "That's my phrase! You can't use it without asking! No fair!"

Henry was about to hit Naruto with a snappy retort, but a loud explosion from the city prevented him from even speaking.

"What was that!?" exclaimed Sakura.

"I've got a bad feeling," said Sasuke, "that we're going to find out."

A few minutes earlier in the gym, Kiba and Natalie were practicing a standard over the shoulder throw, with Kiba as the 'victim.' Natalie had Kiba halfway thrown, when she overbalanced and tripped. The two of them fell to the training mat, with Kiba landing on top of Natalie. They weren't hurt, just embarrassed. Time seemed to stop as the looked at each other's eyes. Slowly they brought their lips closer together and were almost touching when…

**KABOOM!!!**

The explosion caused the two would-be lovers to snap back to reality.

"To be continued?" Natalie asked.

"Absolutely," Kiba answered as he helped her to her feet. They rushed through the palace where they met up with Naruto and the others as they headed towards the main entrance.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Kiba asked.

"Something bad," said Naruto, "That's all we know for now."

"Anyway," said Henry, "How did the training go, Natalie?"

"Um…err…" said Natalie as she turned her head to hide her embarrassment, "It's not finished yet."

"Not nearly finished," Kiba added, "But hopefully, whatever mess is going on now won't put a damper on Natalie's training."

"Let's hope so," said Natalie. They smiled at each other, silently promising to finish what they started.

Outside the palace our heroes were shocked to see a large cloud of smoke rising from the city, the cloud vaguely resembled a mushroom.

"What could have done that?" Natalie asked.

"Dark magic, Miss Natalie," said Elaine as she stood next to Henry and grasped his hand for reassurance, "There are certain aspects of magic that are used purely for destruction. The devastation wrought here is most likely the result of such power."

"Well whatever is responsible," said Sasuke, "We've got to help anyone who's hurt."

"Darn right!" said Sakura.

They made their way into the city and found that things were much worse up close. Many buildings were on fire, while more were completely blasted into rubble.

"What the hell happened here!?" exclaimed Naruto, "Who or what did this?"

"Weren't you listening?" Sakura said, "Elaine clearly explained that dark magic was responsible."

Naruto was about to respond with a snappy retort when another explosion rocked the city

Our heroes rushed several blocks west to the sight of more devastation. This time the blasted area centered on the intersections of two streets which formed a large square sometimes used for weekend markets, public meetings and seasonal fairs.

"This is getting out of hand," said Naruto, "Believe it!"

"Oh I believe it," said Henry, "Someone is going to pay for this."

"But who?" Natalie asked.

"Isn't it obvious," said Sasuke, "I'll bet that some minion of Manos caused this devastation."

Sakura, meanwhile, had told Neji, Shikamaru and the others to help out throughout the affected areas of the city. "Let's do what we can to help."

"I call pulling people out of burning building!!" Naruto said eagerly. Unfortunately for Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, all three of them would experience an unsettling turn of fate. As it happened, the three of them were standing next to one already gutted building, when what was left of it suddenly collapsed and fell on them. It happened so fast that they had barely enough time to see it coming, let alone try and get out of the way.

"Oh my gods!" exclaimed Natalie.

"How can this be?!" Henry asked as he and Natalie ran to the rubble to dig Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura out, "There's no way they couldn't have seen that coming!"

"More dark magic is involved, Henry," said Elaine as she focused her magic to move the broken, charred pieces, "Someone forced the building to collapse at an accelerated rate."

"Brilliant as always, Elaine!" said a familiar, unpleasant voice, "It is a shame that your mental prowess won't save the lives of you or your loved ones!"

There across the street stood Silas Dubois, with two arms and looking far more meaty than before.

"Impossible!" said Natalie, "You were banished!"

"And how is it that you've got your arm back!?" Henry asked.

"Nothing is impossible for the Dark Lord Manos," said Silas, "Such a triviality of reformatting my body is mere child's play for the true master of the world. Now, since I've eliminated those three Shinobi scum, I'll be eliminating you and your loved ones, Henry."

"I should have known you wouldn't disappear so easily, Silas," said Henry as he drew his sword, "At leas now I can avenge all those who've suffered because of your greed! Prepare to die, traitor!!" He rushed at Silas, intent on slicing him in half.

Silas merely raised his hand, sending a psychic blast at Henry, knocking the prince to the ground hard.

"You always were a brash one," said Silas, "It is a shame that brashness leads to death."

"Henry!!" exclaimed Natalie and Elaine. They both rushed towards him, but Silas appeared in front of Elaine and psy-blasted her out of the way. He then locked his gaze on Natalie, immobilizing her. She couldn't move, but could still see, hear and talk

"My dear Natalie," said Silas in a tone half crazed with lust, the other half filled with only the smallest amount of regret a human can exert, "I am so sorry that I could not make you love me, I do sincerely apologize. I wish I had another chance to make you see things the way that I do, but I'm afraid that is no longer possible."

"What do you mean?" Natalie asked as she did her best to hide her fear, for in her mind and heart she knew the worst was coming.

"The true master of the world," said Silas, "The Dark Lord Manos has decreed that, for allowing my personnel ambition to cloud my judgment, you, my most precious Natalie, must die. And as proof of your execution, I must present your head before my master."

"You can't possibly be serious!" exclaimed Natalie.

"I wish I weren't," said Silas as he called up a sword made of dark energy, "But the will of Manos is law. Forgive me, dearest Natalie, but I must take your head to my master." He raised the sword for the fatal strike.

"Don't!!" exclaimed Elaine as she and Henry struggled to stand up, "Don't you touch her, traitor! Fight me! Fight me, you coward!"

"I'll deal with you and your beloved prince momentarily, you pathetic wench," said Silas, "But first…" he swung the sword, expecting to slice through Natalie's neck, only to cut into a large piece of solid wood.

Natalie was more than surprised to find herself not only alive, but in the arms of Kiba as he carried her to safety.

"Kiba," said an astonished Natalie, "But how…?"

"Basic Substitution Jutsu," Kiba said with a smile, "Any Shinobi worth his or her salt knows that, especially how to use it to save the life of someone precious."

"I'm precious to you?" Natalie asked as he set her down next to a waiting Akamaru. By now the paralyzing spell had worn off and she could move again.

"More than you realize," said Kiba. With that they finished what they started earlier and kissed.

"Would you look at that," said Shino as he, Akamaru and Hinata, who had arrived at the scene at the same time as Kiba, helped Henry and Elaine stand up, "It's about time Kiba found himself someone special."

"Speaking of someone special," said Hinata, "Where's Naruto?"

"Um…" said Elaine.

"I hate to say it, Hinata," Henry said reluctantly, "But I'm afraid that Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are…"

"Right here!!" exclaimed Naruto as he, Sasuke and Sakura pulled themselves from the charred rubble and dusted themselves off.

"But…I…the…" stammered Henry, "I thought you were…"

"You think something like a collapsing building would get rid of us?" Sakura asked, "Well think again."

"It'll take more than that to get rid of a Shinobi," said Sasuke.

"Darn right!" said Naruto. Just then he noticed that Kiba and Natalie were kissing. "What the…! When did this happen?!"

"Where have you been the past few weeks, Naruto?" an annoyed Sasuke asked.

Sakura sighed with aggravation, "I said it before, and I'll say it again; you really are a _baka_, Naruto."

"I guess this means we're officially a couple," Kiba said as he and Natalie broke their kiss for some much needed air.

"You can say that again, darling," said Natalie.

"NO!!!!" roared Silas, "She's mine!! Natalie is mine in body and soul!! If I can't have her, than no one can!! I'll rip her head off, her heart out and the rest of her organs and deliver it all to Manos for burnt offerings!!"

"You'll have to go through me first!!" shouted Kiba as he took up a defensive stance in front of Natalie, shielding her from the mad disgraced noble, "Kiba Inuzuka of the Man/Beast style! I'll die before you lay a paw on her!!"

'Me too!!' snarled Akamaru as he stood beside his master; his hackles raised and his teeth bared in a threatening way. 'Akamaru! I fight with my friend and master!'

"I'll be my pleasure to destroy you ninja filth!" said Silas, "It'll make Natalie's demise all that more sweeter as she watches her pets die first!"

"If you wish to destroy Kiba and Akamaru," said Shino as he and Hinata took up fighting stances next to Kiba, "Then you'll have to contend with us as well. Shino Aburame of the Aburame Clan, and of the Destruction Bug style!"

"And me, Hinata Huyga of the Huyga Clan and of the Gentile Fist Style!"

"Don't forget us!!" at one end of the square stood Neji, Tenten and old Bushy Brows.

"I too will fight. Neji Huyga, also of the Huyga Clan and of the Gentile Fist Style." he took up the familiar fighting stance of the Gentile Fist.

"Same here. Tenten, weapon specialist extraordinaire!!" she held out on one hand a razor edged fan, the other had a short handled sickle.

"Least we not forget this splendid ninja! The Handsome Devil of Konohagakure. Otherwise known as The Green Beast; Rock Lee!" he took up his unique fighting stance.

"We're in this too!" at the other end of the square stood Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji.

"We three," said Chouji, "the second generation of Team Ina-Shika-Cho, we also will protect Natalie and Kiba." He took up his fighting stance, "Chouji Akimichi of the Akimichi Clan and of the Body Expansion style!"

"Shikamaru Nara, reluctant genius and expert shadow manipulator!"

"Ino Yamanaka! Mind Breaker and 2nd apprentice to the 5th Hokage!"

"And if you think you're going to leave us out," said Naruto as he, Sasuke and Sakura took up fighting stances, "You've got another thing coming, believe it!"

"Sakura Haruno! Healer and 1st apprentice to the 5th Hokage!"

"Sasuke Uchiha! Last of the Uchiha Clan and heir to the Sharingan!"

"Naruto Uzumaki of the Shadow Clone style and future Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village!"

"And together," said Kiba, "We are a force to be reckoned with! A force that strikes fear into the hearts of evil!!"

"The Fighting Dreamers!!" exclaimed Chouji.

There was a few seconds of silence as the twelve Shinobi and one nin-dog held their stances around Silas; the wind blowing a small cloud of dust through the square.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" a disgruntled Silas asked as he crossed his bulging arms.

"Well…yeah," said Naruto as he and the others relaxed out of their fighting stances, "I guess you should be impressed."

"We really didn't rehearse that," said Ino, "It was kind of a spur of the moment thing."

"We'll work on our presentation later," said Kiba, "Let's just get this creep!"

"Couldn't agree more!" said Naruto eagerly as he made his hand signs, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Where there was one Naruto, there now were five.

"Here we go!" shouted the real Naruto as he and the clones charged at Silas. The disgraced noble calmly held his ground.

"Pathetic," said Silas as the first of the clones got within striking range. But then something weird happened. Just as the clone drew his fist back to bash Silas' head in, he suddenly disappeared in the usual puff of smoke. But that's the weird thing; the clone wasn't touched by Silas in any way.

The other three clones met similar fates, each disappearing in a puff of smoke before they could lay a finger on Silas.

"What the hell is this?!" exclaimed the real Naruto.

"Isn't it obvious?" Silas asked, "My master has remade me; I am invincible!"

"We'll just see about that!" said Naruto, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"The fool just won't learn," smirked Silas as the four summoned clones charged him and were destroyed before they could attack. But what Silas didn't know was that these clones were just a distraction to allow the real Naruto and another batch of clones to sneak up and attack him from the rear.

"Get him!!" shouted the real Naruto as he and the clones charged at Silas and prepared for a classic 'Uzumaki Combination!' but as before, the clones were somehow destroyed before they could attack.

The real Naruto, realizing that his plan was going sour, changed direction for a different kind of attack, while distracting Silas with two kuni knives and four shuriken. But the thrown blades were somehow deflected from their target by some invisible force.

"This is getting ridiculous!" said Naruto, "What are you doing!?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, Shinobi scum!" spat Silas.

"Sasuke," said a worried Sakura, "Any ideas?"

Sasuke, who had activated his Sharingan at the first sign of trouble, was glaring at Silas, "He's got some kind of protective energy field around him, that's all I can tell. I've never seen anything like this, it isn't chakra or demon energy."

"It's magic," said Hinata who, as well as Neji, had activated their Byakugan, "Or dark magic as Elaine would call it. It has to be that."

"I agree about the dark part," said Neji, "This guy is radiating with evil."

"Well that's just great!" said Naruto, "How can we fight something that we can't even touch!?"

"You can't!" exclaimed Silas, "Your pathetic ninja tricks won't work on me! So just stand aside, as I carry out the will of the Dark Lord Manos!"

"Never!!" shouted Kiba, "You're not getting Natalie!!" He and Akamaru then prepared to shield Natalie with their bodies.

"Always the hard way with you Shinobi," sighed Silas, "So be it. I shall enjoy flaying the skin from your bones!"

"Flay this!" shouted Ino as she made her hand signs, "Ninja Art: Mind Break Jutsu!" She send a mental bolt at Silas, disrupting his concentration.

At the same time, Shikamaru got into the best position to maximize the length of his shadow, "Ninja Art: Shadow Constriction!" He extended his shadow so it connected with Silas'. The joined shadows then wrapped around Silas, immobilizing the disgraced noble where he stood.

"Chouji!" said Ino, "You're up!"

"Partial Expansion Jutsu!!" exclaimed Chouji, "Both arms!!" With that his arms increased in both length and girth. "I'm gonna smash you into jelly! Mmm…jelly."

"Chouji!" Shikamaru snapped, "Focus!"

"Oh, right!" said Chouji as he readied to crush Silas.

"Smash this!!" exclaimed Silas. He said something in a language Naruto and the others couldn't understand. Then something really disturbing happened. The shadow constriction fell off of him, only to rebound back to Shikamaru and wrap around him.

"What the hell!!" exclaimed Shikamaru, before the constricting shadows cut off his breath. Fortunately Neji was there and negated the Jutsu with a concentrated burst of released chakra.

Ino meanwhile tried again to disrupt Silas' concentration again, but the disgraced noble was ready this time. He sent a psychic backlash onto Ino, which effectively scrambled her higher brain functions. She collapsed to the ground.

Outraged that two of his teammates were so easily dispatched, Chouji charged at Silas. He barely got within ten feet of him before Chouji was psy-blasted into a nearby tree.

By now Sakura had reached Ino and was attempting to put her friend's mind back together. "Healing Jutsu!" she placed her hands above Ino's head and began restoring the disrupted brain synapses.

"Can you help her?" Shikamaru asked.

"I can try," Sakura said as she focused more chakra into her hands.

Chouji meanwhile had recovered from the psy-blast and had decided to try a different maneuver. "Human Boulder!!" expanding his whole body until it was roughly the size of a large rock, he retraced his limbs and head into his body and began rolling towards Silas.

"Pathetic," said Silas as he used his psychic shield to block Chouji, but the expanded Shinobi wouldn't be knocked away. Instead he kept rolling against the shield.

"Impudent savage!" spat Silas, "Your persistence is futile!"

"Oh really!?" Kiba said daringly. He and Akamaru had already done the 'Beast-Human Clone Jutsu,' where Akamaru transformed into a copy of Kiba, "Let's do it, Akamaru! Double Wolf Fang!" The two Kiba's leapt and began spinning like tornadoes, each slamming into Silas' shield.

The combined assault from Chouji and the two Kibas was weakening Silas' concentration to the point where one more hit would shatter his shield, and that hit came from Sasuke.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!!" Sasuke then spat several large balls of flame at Silas, impacting and disrupting his shield. With his psychic barrier shattered, Chouji and the two Kibas were free to finish their attacks, slamming into Silas at almost the same time; with Kiba and Akamaru hitting him from behind, then Chouji running Silas over from the front.

"Alright!" exclaimed Chouji as he rolled to a stop then returned to his normal size and shape, while Akamaru reverted back to his canine form, "That did it!!"

"I hate to be a downer, Chouji," said Tenten, "But I don't think it's over yet."

Indeed, Silas soon stood up and brushed himself off. He barely had any scratches on him.

"No way!" exclaimed Kiba, "There's no way he got through that in one piece!"

"Then we'll just have to try harder!" Sasuke said as he made his hand signs, "Fire Style: Flamethrower Jutsu!" He then shot a long stream of fire at the disgraced noble.

"Oh please," said a rather bored sounding Silas. He pointed his hand at the incoming fire and shot a stream of dark purple fire. Sasuke's flames were canceled out, while more of the dark purple fire shot at him. He barely managed to jump out of the way with only some minor burns.

Silas was about to blast more dark fire at Sasuke, when he realized that there was a loud humming coming towards him. He turned around to see a huge cloud of destruction bugs emerging from Shino and heading right for him.

"Just like a Shinobi savage," Silas mocked as he shot more dark fire at the incoming beetles, incinerating all of them before they got close, "Using disgusting insects as weapons." He then formed a large dark fireball and threw it at Shino, but it was a bug clone that was burned to ashes.

The real Shino appeared behind Silas, "A Shinobi uses whatever is available to him or her, in order to get the job done." In one hand he had two kuni knives, the other had four shuriken. Shino then threw the blades at Silas.

"Children should not play with knives," Silas mocked as he sent a mind pulse to stop the kuni and shuriken in midair, then send them back at Shino.

Shino saw his blades coming back at him. He threw six more shuriken to counter the shuriken and kuni, successfully knocking the incoming blades away from him.

Neji meanwhile had mauvered within striking range of Silas, "Gentile Fist Style! Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palms!" He slammed his palms into Silas' body, sending his chakra to block off the energy pathways in the disgraced noble. But the signature technique of the Huyga clan seemed to be having no effect on Silas.

"Is that all?" Silas taunted.

"Impossible!" exclaimed a shocked Neji, "You should be unconscious by now, or at least unable to move!"

"Now do you see?" Silas said, "Now do you realize the futility of defying the will of Manos?"

"Defy this!!" exclaimed Naruto as he and a Shadow Clone finished charging up his signature move, "Rasengan!!" Naruto rushed at Silas and aimed the chakra sphere at the head of the disgraced noble.

Silas merely held out his hand to intercept the Rasengan. Naruto pushed with all his might to break past Silas' block, but he couldn't, Silas was like an unmoving rock. Everyone was shocked to see the Rasengan dissipate.

"Are you still blind, ninja scum?" Silas asked, "Or shall I further demonstrate the power of Manos?"

**The end of chapter 12**

Naruto: What?! You got to be kidding me!! How can you end the chapter like that!?

AndrewK9000: Hey, that's how it turned out, sorry if you don't like it.

Naruto: Damn right I don't like it! What's the idea of having my Rasengan not work on Silas!?

AndrewK9000: Again, that's how it turned out.

Naruto: Well maybe you should un-turn it out.

AndrewK9000: What's done is done.

Naruto: Well that ain't right!

Sasuke: They could be a while.

Sakura: It'll give the rest of us time to get ready for the rest of the battle.

Ino: Hopefully someone will have what it takes to bring Silas down.

Chouji: Next chapter, 'Sudden Death: Duel of Mages.'

Tenten: Be sure to leave plenty of reviews.

Shikamaru: It'll be such a drag if you don't.


	16. Chapter 13: Sudden Death, Duel of Mages

**Chapter 13**

**Sudden Death: Duel of Mages**

"Now do you see?" Silas said, "Now do you realize the futility of defying the will of Manos?"

"Defy this!!" exclaimed Naruto as he and a Shadow Clone finished charging up his signature move, "Rasengan!!" Naruto rushed at Silas and aimed the chakra sphere at the head of the disgraced noble.

Silas merely held out his hand to intercept the Rasengan. Naruto pushed with all his might to break past Silas' block, but he couldn't, Silas was like an unmoving rock. Everyone was shocked to see the Rasengan dissipate.

"Are you still blind, ninja scum?" Silas asked, "Or shall I further demonstrate the power of Manos?"

"Here's what I think of Manos!!" snapped Naruto as he employed something he was saving for emergencies, a spring-loaded kuni up his sleeve. Unfortunately Silas blasted the knife out of Naruto's hand with a mind blast. **(I know that sound's lame, sorry)**

"I ain't done yet!!" exclaimed Naruto as he summoned more Shadow Clones. Unknown to Silas, who proceeded to destroy the clones, one of them was Sasuke under the guise of a Genjutsu. He held back until all the other clones were destroyed, then released the illusion.

"Fire Style! Dragonflame Jutsu!!" He shot a gigantic burst of fire at Silas, the blast was in the shape of a raging dragon.

Silas saw the blast coming at the last second and tried to deflect it with a psy-shield. It worked, mostly. When the flames passed, the disgraced noble had most of his body covered with first degree and a few second degree burns.

"You ninja scum are really starting to annoy me!" spat Silas.

"Only now we're starting to be annoying?" Sakura asked as she finished healing Ino, then helped her up, "Well, I guess we'll have to try harder."

"I'll be sure to give it 110%," said Ino, "I owe this bastard a free brain scrambling."

"Permit me to give you more of the same!!" spat Silas as he sent a psy-blast at Ino. She was still a but unsteady from the healing, and only jumped away at the last second. She landed awkwardly and lost her balance.

The disgraced noble shot another blast at Ino, but Sakura pushed her out of the way, only to take the blast instead. The tremendous force sent Sakura flaying back several yards, causing her to knock her head hard against a lamp post.

"Sakura!!" exclaimed Sasuke.

"Miss Sakura!!" exclaimed Rock Lee. They both rushed over to her.

"Sakura-Chan," said Sasuke desperately, "Are you alright?" He then noticed that the back of her head was bleeding.

"My head," Sakura said in a weak tone, "I…I hurt." She then passed out.

"Move!!" exclaimed Ino as she pushed Lee and Sasuke out of the way. She then used her Healing training to sense the seriousness of Sakura's injury. "She's got a concussion, but it's not life threatening, thank goodness. It'll take a while to heal, though," she then focused her Chakra to begin the healing process.

"Do your best, Ino," said Sasuke, he then glared at Silas, his voice now taking on a more vicious tone, "I've got a worm to squash."

"Save some for me," said Rock Lee in an equally vicious manner, "No one huts Miss Sakura and get's away with it!"

"Let's go!!" exclaimed Sasuke. With that they both attacked Silas. The disgraced noble tried to psy-blast them, but they were too fast. Thanks to his Sharingan, Sasuke was able to match Lee move for high-speed move.

"Double Leaf Whirlwind!!" shouted both Lee and Sasuke as they both performed a leg sweep on Silas, one on each side of the disgraced noble, and knocking him off balance.

"Double Lion Combination!!" They both kicked Silas in the midsection, sending him flying. Lee and Sasuke then maneuvered into position to deliver each an upward kick that sent Silas into the air, and rounded it out with a dual heel kick that sent Silas crashing to the ground.

But it was all for naught, as Silas stood up, apparently without a scratch. "Are you quite finished!?" Silas asked, "You're starting to bore me."

"Rasengan!!" Naruto tried to hit Silas again, but the disgraced noble merely sidestepped the attack, causing Naruto to lose balance and trip, his Rasengan dissipating.

"Just get out of the way, Naruto!" said Sasuke, "You're really not helping!"

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do, Sasuke!?" Naruto asked.

"You can die!!" spat Silas as he sent a psy-blast at Naruto, who fortunately dodged it. Naruto then began to charge up another Rasengan, but another psy-blast caused him to lose concentration.

"This can't go on," said Sasuke, "Lee, I need about two minutes."

"No problem," said Lee as he removed his leg weights, which happened to be currently up to 500lbs on each leg. The dropped weights left large dents in the ground where he dropped them.

Lee then opened the first five inner gates, causing a massive surge of energy in his body that turned his skin red. "You're mine, creep!!" exclaimed Lee as he charged at Silas at such a high speed he could barely be seen by even someone with the Byakugan.

He then kicked Silas hard into the air, jumped up, undid the fighting tape around his arms and wrapped the tape around Silas. As they both began their descent, Lee began spinning in a corkscrew motion, faster and faster, "Take this, Primary Lotus!!"

They crashed to the ground, but Lee managed to avoid the worst of the impact. When the dust cleared, Silas was clearly in pain and there were multiple scrapes and cuts across his body.

"Now we're getting somewhere!" said Naruto as he reached Ino, who was finishing up healing Sakura, "Bushy Brows finally managed to hurt the creep!"

"And Sasuke looks like he's ready to close the deal," said Ino as she finished healing Sakura.

"Huh?" a still disoriented Sakura asked as Ino helped her up, "What's going on with Sasuke?"

"Watch and see," said Ino, "This is going to be big."

Sasuke was using the time Lee had bought him to charge up for the signature move that Kakashi taught him so long ago, "Chidori!!" His left arm charged with Chakra, he rushed at Silas and slammed his palm into the disgraced noble, knocking him back several yards.

"Did it work?" Chouji asked.

It looked like it did, for Silas had a hand shaped abrasion that left a painful-looking dent on his chest.

"Alright!" Tenten said, "It's over!"

"No!!" spat Silas, "It's not over!!" With that he released a massive psyonic shockwave that knocked Naruto and the others to the ground hard. It was several seconds before they could move, and when they did, they found that their stamina was seriously drained.

"I've had enough of you Shinobi scum!" raged Silas, "So now I am going to kill you all, and I shall do it so slowly, you will be begging to accept Manos as your god, just to end the pain!"

"Silas Dubois!!" exclaimed Elaine.

"Oh," said Naruto, "I forgot that Elaine is here."

"I challenge you, Silas Dubois!" said Elaine, "I challenge you to a mage battle, your magic against mine in a fight to the death!"

"Why should I?" Silas asked without even looking at Elaine, "Why should I accept the challenge of a low-born guttersnipe like you?"

"Because you'll be forever marked as a coward if you refuse," said Elaine, "So if you have any honor at all as a magic user, you'll accept my challenge."

"Elaine, don't," said Natalie, "You can't fight him, he's much too powerful."

"I have to, Princess Natalie," said Elaine, "Because if I don't, he'll kill Naruto and his friends. Then he'll kill you, Henry, Miss Clare and everyone else that gets in his way."

"And if he kills you," said Henry, "I don't even want to think about it. I can't live without you, Elaine, you are the love of my life."

"And you are the love of mine," said Elaine, "But this is something I have to do, I don't have to like it, but it has to be done."

"Oh cry me a river!" spat Silas, "I'll contend with you in time, Elaine, right after I tie up some lose ends."

"You'll contend with me now, you pig-f#ck$ng son of a bitch!!" snapped Elaine, "Fight me, damn you! Fight me, you pig-f#ck$ng coward!!"

This caused something really strange to happen to Silas. He just stood there, his left eyelid twitching, "Don't you call me that, you bitch!!"

"Well golly gee," said Elaine in a taunting tone, "it appears that I have stuck a nerve. Did I hit a little to close to home just now? Have I stirred up something unpleasant when I called you a pig-f#ck#r?"

"I said don't call me that, you whore!!!" raged Silas.

"What's this about?" Natalie asked Henry.

"Now I remember ," said Henry, "A few years ago there was a minor scandal involving the Dubois family. Somehow a rumor got started, of which I had nothing to do with of course, saying that Silas had a rather disturbing sexual fetish involving farm animals. There was no proof, but everybody talked about it."

"Oh yeah," said Natalie, "I remember that to, it's one of the reasons I hate him. Many thanks for reminding me, big brother. And yes, of course you didn't have anything to do with starting the rumor." That last sentence was heavy with sarcasm

"You'll pay for bringing that up, Elaine!" spat Silas, his eyes gleaming with wrathful rage, "You want a mage battle to the death, well, you have it!!"

"Then let's get started!!" shouted Elaine, "Take this!!" She then shot several energy spheres at Silas, each one primed with enough explosive force to blast through a 10ft thick brick wall. Silas merely held out his hands and projected a force field to block the spheres. They detonated on the shield, leaving the disgraced noble unharmed.

Silas then said an incantation that launched a cloud of green gas at Elaine. This cloud was highly acidic and would have reduced her to bones within seconds, but Elaine spoke a counter spell that neutralized the cloud, turning it into harmless water vapor which evaporated.

"Is that all you got, worm?" said Elaine.

"You think you can do better!?" exclaimed Silas.

"I know I can do better," replied Elaine, "because I'm better than you, Silas, and you know it. I'm twice the magic user you'll ever be, despite whatever vile transfiguration Manos put on you. And to top it off, I'm a much better person."

"I beg to differ!" spat Silas as he shot several green energy spheres at Elaine, but she countered with a psychic shield of her own.

Elaine then shot two large blue fireballs at Silas, one from each hand. The disgraced noble shouted a spell that caused the fireballs to stop in midair and turn back at Elaine. She blocked the fireballs with her shield at the last second, while preparing and casting a new spell.

Before he could bring up his shield, Silas found himself engulfed by a storm of blades that began slicing into his flesh. But the blades only left minor scratches on his magically reinforced body. Silas shouted a spell that caused the storm of blades to dissipate and fade.

"This duel has been rather amusing, Elaine," said Silas, "But the fun ends now." He aimed his hand at Elaine and shot a beam of blackness at her, intending to blind her. But Elaine was ready for the blinding curse; she called up a large mirror, which reflected the curse back at Silas.

The disgraced noble shouted a counter spell that caused the air in front of him to distort and swirl like a vortex, which absorbed the blinding curse before it could reach him.

Silas then shouted a spell that caused the gravity around Elaien to increase ten fold. She tried to get out of the way, but tripped on a loose cobblestone, falling to the ground, just as the spell took effect. Elaine cried out in agony as her entire body felt like it was being flattened like a pancake.

"I hope you enjoyed that, Elaine," gloated Silas, "Because it shall soon get far worse. I'm going to enjoy watching you suffer before you die."

"No!!" shouted Henry. He rushed at Silas, intent on running the disgraced noble through with his sword. Silas merely flicked his hand at Henry, causing him to be thrown back several yards.

"I'll deal with you soon enough, Henry," said Silas, "But first, I've decided to end the life of your precious Elaine here and now. My master grows impatient; the sooner I deal with the two of you, the sooner I can deliver the head of Natalie and the soul of Clare to Lord Manos." He aimed his hand at Elaine, "Die!!" he shot a beam of dark purple energy at her.

"Eight Protective Trigrams! Sixty-four Palm Shield!!" At the last second, Hinata jumped in front of Elaine and used her signature defensive Jutsu to block Silas' death beam. She managed to completely block the ray, but the effort nearly drained her of chakra.

"I've had just about enough of you Shinobi scum!!" spat Silas, "I'll destroy you all!!"

"Destroy this!!" shouted Rock Lee as he aimed a kick at Silas' head. He dodged it, but failed to stop several follow-up body punches. Unfortunately at that time, Lee's old wounds that he received during the Chûnin Exam all those years ago choose to act up again. His left arm and leg began to throb in pain and he lost focus. The first five Inner Gates, which he'd been holding open for several minutes, were forced close, leaving Lee severely drained of stamina.

But Lee's attack was only a distraction, allowing Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke to get Hinata, Henry and Elaine out of harms way. They deposited their charges out of sight behind a building, while Tenten further distracted Silas with several paper bombs, allowing Neji to help Lee get to safety. Those still standing then regrouped at the far end of the square and took stock of the situation.

"This is beyond hopeless!" said Ino, "Nothing we've tried has worked. That creep keeps blocking our Jutsus! We've thrown everything we've got at Silas, but nothing can hurt him."

"Except for Sasuke's attack," said Sakura, "He was the only who managed to seriously hurt Silas with a Chidori."

"Yeah," said Shikamaru, "But that was only a minor wound, and how many more times can Sasuke use Chidori today before exhausting himself?"

"I don't know," said Sasuke, "one, maybe two more times." Since his capture and subsequent reinstatement to the village, Sasuke has trained himself to the point where he can safely use Chidori up to five times in one day before exhausting his Chakra, but all of the fighting this day has really strained himself.

It was then that Sasuke and Naruto had the same brilliant idea, more or less.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Naruto asked.

"Just keep the bastard busy for a bit longer, Naruto," said Sasuke as he drew his sword.

"Count on it!!" exclaimed Naruto. Of the twelve Shinobi, Naruto had the most stamina left to use. He then faced Silas, "Hey creep! We're not done yet!! Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!!!" Where there was one Naruto, now there were well over four hundred, all of whom began attacking Silas.

The disgraced noble smirked as he began destroying the clones, but his expression began to grow sterner as the real Naruto kept summoning more and more Shadow Clones.

"Why do you persist!?" Silas exclaimed, "It's clear that you cannot defeat me, so why do you continue this futile battle?!"

"Because I choose to!" said the real Naruto as he and a clone charged up another Rasengan, despite the fact that it failed like before. But this was all just to keep Silas distracted, while Sasuke got ready for his attack.

All the time, Sasuke was channeling as much chakra as he could into his sword. At that time Henry and Elaine had recovered enough to carefully move to where Sasuke and the others were, while Natalie helped Hinata.

"Just what are you doing?" Henry asked.

"Something spontaneous," said Sasuke, "If this works, we won't have to worry about Silas any more."

"And if it doesn't?" Elaine asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," said Sakura.

By now Sasuke's sword was crackling and flashing with so much chakra that any more and it would explode, "That's as good as it's going to get," said Sasuke, "All I need is just one clear shot."

"I think you've already got it," said Kiba. At that time Naruto was out of clones, but he compensated by grabbing Silas in a Full-Nelson lock. The disgraced noble thrashed about to disgorge Naruto from behind, but Naruto just wouldn't let go.

"Naruto!!" shouted Sasuke, "Just hold him right there!"

"Rodger!!" Naruto replied. He channeled the last of his available chakra to his feet to hold himself to the ground, while tightening his grip on Silas.

"Release me!!" spat Silas, "Unhand me, you scurvy swine!!"

"Now that's insulting," said Naruto, "I happen to be on good terms with a very respectable pig back home, and I've never heard of pigs getting scurvy."

"It's a figure of speech!!" exclaimed Silas, "You stupid bastard!!"

"Keep yapping, scumbag," said Naruto, "It won't do you much good any longer. Sasuke! Whenever you're ready!!"

"Here we go!" said Sasuke. He then charged at Silas, his chakra-charged sword aimed for the twisted heart of the disgraced noble.

Naruto released his hold on Silas and jumped out of the way, just as Sasuke stabbed Silas in the heart. Actually, the blade missed the heart by a millimeter or two, but the damage was done. The chakra charged sword pierced Silas' defenses and entered his body.

The sword then began to crack, all that chakra was too much for normal steel. The blade broke into several pieces, leaving just over a foot of steel attached to the handle in Sasuke's hand, while the point and several inches more were stuck in Silas' body. The disgraced noble collapsed to the ground.

"You did it, Sasuke!!" exclaimed Sakura.

"No," said Sasuke, "Not yet." Indeed, Silas was still alive.

"Damn it!" exclaimed Shikamaru, "This is guy is really pissing me off!"

"What do we have to do to kill him?" Chouji asked, "Bash his brains in with a rock?"

"I doubt that would be necessary," said Shino, "He won't be alive for much longer."

"You fools," gasped Silas as the stab wound gushed his blood onto the ground, "You think you have won a victory today, well you are wrong. My death is of little consequence. I may have failed to carry out the will of my master, but by fighting me, my master has crept even closer to Andalasia. Face it, you've won nothing!!"

"Oh shut up already!" said a very irate Hinata, "Enough is enough. I was hoping I would never have to use this technique, but you've pushed me too far, Silas Dubois."

Silas tried to get away from Hinata, but the damage inflicted to his body prevented him from moving very far. Hinata easily caught up with him. She knelt down near Silas' head and sharply jabbed her thumbs into the temples of the disgraced noble. Silas' eyes widened in shock at the sudden increase of pressure on his head.

"I've just pressed two vital pressure points," said Hinata in a grave tone, "Once I remove my thumbs, you'll have exactly seven seconds to make your peace with god and to reflect on all your wrongdoings. Then, you will die."

"No!" exclaimed Silas, "You cannot do that to me!" he pushed Hinata's hands away from his head and staggered to his feat. He didn't get very far, for exactly seven seconds after the pressure was released from his temples, his head began to buckle and expand, as if something inside was trying to get out.

"Lord Manos!!" shouted Silas, just before his head exploded from the inside, splattering brains and skull fragments on the ground. Fortunately our heroes were out of the way so they didn't get any bits of Silas on them. Still, it was a pretty sickening scene.

"Gross!" exclaimed Sakura, Ino and Tenten, while Chouji and Rock lee nearly threw up.

"That was probably the coolest and most disgusting thing I've ever seen," said Shikamaru.

"Indeed," said Shino, while Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru nodded in agreement.

"What kind of Taijutsu technique was that?" Chouji asked as he got his stomach under control, "I don't think it was part of the Gentle Fist Style."

"It isn't," said Neji, "The technique Hinata used is called 'Fist of Remorse.' It is part of a restricted style of martial arts, one that can only be fully mastered by one individual at a time, but the individual techniques can be taught to more than one person."

"'Fist of Remorse,'" Naruto repeated, "Cool."

"What fighting style is that?" Kiba asked.

"I've never heard of a fighting style that can be mastered by only one person at a time," said Ino.

"I have," said Shino, "Kureni-Sensei once spoke to me of it. She called it Hokuto Shinken: Devine Fist of the North Star."

"Again, cool," said Naruto.

"You want to know what else was cool?" Sakura asked, "That move Sasuke used to disable Silas, that was pure genius."

"It wasn't that hard to come up with," said Sasuke, "I realized that if I could deliver the power of a Chidori as a sword strike, then I'd have a much better chance of hurting Silas. Naruto had the same idea as I did, right?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, "I thought you were going for a double Chidori, you know, one in each hand. I didn't expect you to use a lighting blade or something."

"Hey, that's a good name for it," said Tenten, "Lighting Blade."

Elaine meanwhile was looking to the west, a tense look on her face, "I can sense him, Manos, he's watching us."

"You know what," said Naruto, "I think I feel something too."

"I have been feeling that somebody's been observing us," said Neji, "Ever since we arrived in Andalasia."

"Oh that's just dandy!" said Chouji, "That psycho Manos is watching our every move."

"Not for much longer," said Elaine in a serious tone, "Now that I'm sure of what's going on, I can stop it."

"How?" Sakura asked.

"Like this," said Elaine. She closed her eyes and began chanting in a language Naruto and the others couldn't understand. As they watched, the ground around where Elaine was standing began to glow with pink lines of energy.

After about three minutes of chanting, Elaine was finished, she opened her eyes and the energy lines disappeared. "There," she said, "Let's see that lunatic spy on us now."

Several hundred miles to the west, Manos sat watching the battle between Silas and the Shinobi unfold. He sighed in mild disappointment when he saw Silas get stabbed by Sasuke's chakra charged sword, then looked with renewed interest when Hinata delivered the killing blow.

"So," said Manos, "At least one of the Shinobi is somewhat familiar with 'Devine Fist of the North Star.' All the more satisfying it will be when they are put in their place."

Just then the crystal ball that Manos was using to watch Naruto and the others began to flicker, like a bad TV reception. Within seconds the image in the crystal ball was completely distorted, only to reform into the face of Elaine.

"I'm sorry," said the image of Elaine in a overly cheerful tone, "The party you are attempting to observe is unavailable at this time. Please leave your name, location and any message you wish to at the sound of the tone. Oh, one more thing; F#ck you, Manos!!!" With that the crystal ball cracked and shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.

"So that's the way you wish to play the game, then," said Manos in a dark tone, "So be it." He called in one of his officers, "Inform the faithful that the time for leisure is finished. Double the pace, I wish to be inside Andalasia within two weeks."

"With all do respect, Lord Manos," said the officer, "You gave that order this morning, we will reach the border in twelve days."

"Of course I did," said Manos, "Well then, carry on."

"By your command, Lord Manos," said the officer, who bowed and left the tent.

"I'll make sure to prolong the suffering of the Shinobi infidels," said Manos to himself, "How dare they make me look like a fool in the presence of my subjects. Yes, they shall all suffer, except the Huyga girl, I believe her soul will make a fitting addition to my collection. Yes, her soul will look nicely next to Clare's. It won't be long before I have both, and all of Andalasia as well."

The end of chapter 13.

Naruto: Oh man, that was just nuts!

Chouji: Which part? Where we couldn't beat Silas? The part where Hinata made Silas' head explode? Or that part with Manos ranting?

Naruto: All of it.

Sakura: If Silas was that strong, just how powerful is Manos going to be?

Sasuke: We'll find out soon enough, he's coming, him and his army.

Naruto: We'll be ready for them, believe it!

Ino: Next chapter: Preemptive Strike! The Enemy Takes the Bait!

Tenten: Be sure to leave lots of great reviews!


	17. Chapter 14: Preemptive Strike!

**Chapter 14: Preemptive Strike! The Enemy Takes the Bait**

It was six days until the dark army approaching from the west reached the border. All the roads and passes along the border were currently in the process of being destroyed. It was taking a little longer than anticipated, but reports were coming in projecting that all access routes into Andalasia from the west would be completely blocked, all but one.

"How many soldiers can be ready to defend Hadrian's Deep?" Sasuke asked.

"No more than 500," said Shikamaru, "Everyone else won't be ready to fight until it's too late."

"Then we'll have to make do with 500," said Sasuke, "And hope that we can hold off Manos until the rest of the army is ready and in place."

"Easier said than done," said Sakura, "From what I heard, the enemy has swelled to over 200,000 strong."

"Over 200,000?!" exclaimed Naruto, "How did that happen!?"

"It's disturbingly amazing the influence a madman like Manos can have over people," said Sasuke, "I'm just glad I got rid of Orochimaru before he could amass such a hoard."

"Me too," said Sakura.

"Well that still doesn't help us stop the enemy from marching over us," said Naruto.

"But we're planning to hold Manos and his army at Hadrian's Deep," said Sasuke, "Right, Henry?"

"The fortress is strong enough to last a prolonged siege," said Henry in a slightly depressed tone, "And is large enough to accommodate several hundred defenders. I've already had the fortress supplied, all that is needed is to man it and wait for Manos to come."

"You don't sound so sure of yourself," said Sakura.

"I don't feel so sure of myself," sighed Henry, "I'm starting to think that I shouldn't have gotten involve in this venture."

"What are you saying?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not sure I can do this," said Henry, "Maybe I should pass the command to you, Sasuke, or Naruto. Someone else, somebody better qualified."

"Are you kidding!?" exclaimed Naruto, "You're giving up?! Now!? What's up with that!?"

"I've made myself clear," said Henry, "I'm just not qualified to lead the defenses of the kingdom. Oh I can make decisions when safely behind a desk, but in the field, when it comes to making life or death choices while in the heat of battle, I'm about as useless as an empty paint can."

"That's not true," said Sakura, "You've made some great decisions while we had to deal with all those brigands."

"And a paint can isn't useless," said Naruto, "You could throw it at the enemy."

"Don't try to cheer me up," said Henry, "I'm serious. Brigands are one thing, but we're facing a professional army hell-bent on wiping Andalasia from the map. And their leader is equally hell-bent on taking Clare's soul, if not more. And just recently, one of his minions tried to kill my sister, twice, and both times I couldn't protect her. All my skills and abilities were useless against Silas. So yes, I am as useless as an empty paint can."

"You talk like that again I'll smack you," said Naruto, "And you'd better not let Elaine hear you talking like that; she'll want to smack you as well, believe it."

"I believe she would," said Henry, "But what else am I supposed to feel?"

"Anything other than like an empty paint can," said Naruto, "Sakura, Sasuke, back me up on this."

"No problem," said Sasuke, "first of all, Silas is no longer a threat, you saw that as we all did. Second, Natalie, Elaine and Clare are all safe from harm. I can assure you that they'll be far away from any danger when the fighting starts."

"Speaking of which," said Sakura, "Do I even have to remind you that you accepted the mantle of leadership so that you can marry the girl you love? You're doing this so you can be with Elaine. If you won't do this for your kingdom, do it for her."

"But…" said Henry.

"Oh snap out of it already!!" exclaimed Naruto, "You are not going to fall apart on us! You are not going to let your kingdom down! Nor are you going to let down your family. And by no means are you going to let Elaine down either. You made a pledge to defend Andalasia from the forces of Manos, and by Kami, you are going to do it, believe it!"

"And when this whole mess is over," said Sakura, "You're going to marry Elaine and make her your queen, believe it!"

"That's my line!" protested Naruto, "Get your own catchphrase."

"I'd like to believe it," said Henry, "I so much want to believe, for my kingdom, my family and for Elaine. But how can I be expected to defend my kingdom if I cannot even protect the ones I love?"

"You just focus on being there with your fellow defenders," said Sakura, "We'll take care of everything else."

"What she said," said Sasuke.

"Why is it that you Shinobi can be so aggravating," said Henry, "Yet are so easy to like?"

"I guess it's natural," said Naruto, "So, are you going to do this? Or are you going to run away and bury your head in the ground?"

"Are you kidding?" Henry asked, "Of course I'm going to do this, for Elaine, for Clare, for my family and for all of Andalasia."

"That's the spirit!" exclaimed Naruto.

…later that day…

"So we're all clear on our assignments," said Sasuke. The whole team had gathered outside the palace in preparation for the coming battle.

"Crystal," said Tenten, "Neji, Lee and I will head west to intercept Manos' army and destroy their cannons."

"While causing as much chaos among the enemy ranks as possible," Neji added.

"And leave a trail for the enemy to follow back to the fortress," Lee finished.

"As for everyone else," said Ino, "We're going to get the fortress ready for the attack."

"You know," said Chouji, "This is probably the most dangerous mission any of us has ever been on. I think it's safe to say that this mission has gone way beyond 'A' class."

"You're right," said Shikamaru, "I'd say this is an 'S' class mission."

"More like 'X' class," said Neji, "There's a distinct possibility that some of us, perhaps all of us, will not return home from this battle."

"Oh come on, what kind of talk is that?" Sakura asked, "Of course we're all coming home after this."

"And just what makes you so confident?" Shino asked.

Sakura then gave everyone her most serious look, "Because I know, that providence wouldn't have given me back Sasuke, only to have us separated by death at a time like this."

"I agree," said Sasuke, "We've all been through too much to just allow ourselves to die at the hands of a mad wizard."

"That's probably the smartest thing I've ever heard you say, Sasuke," said Naruto, "And I've heard you say some pretty dumb things."

"Oh yeah?" Sasuke asked in a daring tone, "Like what?"

"Um…well…" stammered Naruto, "I can't think of anything right now, but I'm sure it'll come to me eventually."

"You really are a knucklehead, Naruto," sighed Sasuke, while everyone else sighed in agreement.

"This is it then," said Rock Lee, "Everyone give me a hands in." He held out his right hand.

"Oh not this again," said a disgruntled Neji.

"It has to be done, Neji," said Lee, "In the absence of Guy Sensei, I shall lead the tradition. Now, everybody, hands in."

"Alright," said Naruto eagerly, "I've always wanted to do this." He placed his hand on top of Lee's.

"I'm not sure what we're doing," said Chouji, "But what the hell," he placed his hand on top of Naruto's. Ino and Shikamaru followed suit, followed by Shino, Hinata and Kiba, while Akamaru placed his paw atop of Kiba's hand.

"Come on, Neji," said Tenten as she put her hand in, "It's not so bad."

"Easy for you to say," said Neji, "You're not the one who feels that this ritual is a complete waste of time."

"It's more than a ritual," said Lee, "It's for luck."

"Same thing," sighed Neji as he reluctantly put his hand in.

"Sasuke," said Lee, "Miss Sakura, all we need is you."

"No way!" said Sakura, "I'm not doing this!"

"I don't know what you're planning, Lee," said Sasuke, "But if it upsets Sakura, then count me out."

"We're not moving until we do this," said Naruto, "Come on, Sasuke, it's for luck."

"Well," Sasuke said hesitantly, "If it's for luck," he put his hand in.

"Oh for crying out loud," said Sakura, "Oh all right," she put her hand in, "But not one word of this to anyone back home, do you hear me?"

"We hear you," said Ino, who was already plotting ways she could use this situation to her advantage.

"Alright, Fighting Dreamers!" said Lee as the assembled hands moved up and down, his whiter than white teeth glinting in the sunlight, "Let's do this! Fight with the full power of youth! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! And another, Fight!!"

"I don't know why," said Hinata as Neji, Tenten and Lee 'zoomed' off to their assignment, "But I suddenly feel really eager about the mission."

"Me too," said a grinning Naruto, "And you know what, I've a good feeling about all of this. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

"We all die," said Shikamaru in his usual bored tone, "Manos wipes Andalasia from the map and enslaves the rest of the world."

"I know it's a little late to ask this," said Henry to Naruto, "But is he always like this?"

"You mean a shirker, a slouch and a total lazy slob," said Naruto, "Yeah, Shikamaru can be like that at times, but he's alright."

"Oh," said Henry, "I just thought it was his thing to be that annoying."

"I am surrounded by idiots," Shikamaru muttered.

A few yards over, Kiba and Natalie were having a tender moment. "You'd better come back alive and well," Natalie said.

"I expect to," said Kiba, "And don't even think about forgetting about me."

"How can I forget about you?" Natalie asked, "You're too weird."

"I guess I am a little quirky," Kiba said. They looked at each other's eyes before finally kissing, "I guess we really are a couple now."

"You'd better believe it," said Natalie, they then kissed again.

"I told you they'd get together," Chouji whispered to Shikamaru, "So pay up!"

"You're worse than the 5th Hokage sometimes," Shikamaru grumbled as he paid his wager to Chouji.

…a few days later…

Hadrian's Deep was situated so that it formed a bottleneck in the pass, so that any force approaching from the west could only get about two-hundred soldiers in a row through at a time, and that's if they were really skinny soldiers as well.

The fortress itself consisted of three interconnected walls arranged for supporting fire; the first one was 20ft high, the second 35ft and the last one 50ft. The walls then lead to large castle-like structure; all the stonework was fitted with firing slits for arrows and larger openings for cannons.

Each of the outer walls held a large gate to allow traffic, but said gates were sealed off and reinforced with steel bars. The only way to get through the walls now was to go over them. But once you got over the first wall, you had to cross several yards of open ground to the second wall, and that open ground was now filled with a wide variety of booby-traps. The same treatment was given to the ground between the second and third walls. Collapsible walkways now connected the walls with the main keep of the fortress.

The keep stretched across from one rock wall of the pass to the other, with large gates to allow traffic. Like the three walls, the gates of the fortress keep were barred and reinforced against battering rams. Inside the keep was plenty of room for the defenders; indeed the fortress was built to house twice as many defenders and still have more than enough supplies for all of them.

"Only five hundred," said Henry, "If only we had a few more days."

"Well we don't," said Naruto, "So don't complain. If anyone's going to whine and fuss, it'll be me for forgetting to bring my favorite brand of ramen."

"I'm shocked that you forgot," said Sakura in an honest tone.

"We'll worry about that later," said Henry as they entered the fortress war room, "What's the status with the fortress? What's our supply situation?"

"The food larders and water tanks are at full capacity," said Commander Keith Howard, who had arrived at the fortress several hours earlier, "We have a full compliment of cannons; 10 at the first wall, 15 at the second, 15 at the third, 20 in the fortress keep and another 20 in reserve. Our shot and powder supply should last us for several days of continuous firing.

"Every soldier has been armed with either a sword, spear, axe or bow and arrow, while fifty have been given muskets, each supplied with enough shot and powder for 100 shots. I'm a little concerned about the arrow supply, apparently there was a error in the shipping manifest, resulting in most of the arrows requested being sent to the eastern costal fortresses, so we have a limited number of arrows to use."

"I'm sure that once the fighting starts," said Sasuke, "We'll get plenty of arrows from Manos."

"Yeah," said Naruto, "So we can send them back to him."

"I just checked with the fortress infirmary," said Sakura, "They're fully stocked with medical supplies and there's a full team of healers standing by for any emergency."

"Hopefully there won't be so many casualties," said Henry, "The outer walls and the keep was designed to provide more than adequate cover against enemy arrows."

"And assuming Bushy Brows and his team did their job," said Naruto, "We won't have to worry about enemy cannons."

"We can only hope," said Sakura.

"What about anti-siege weapons?" Sasuke asked.

"We have several barrels of oil to use against siege towers and battering rams," said Commander Howard, "And as for enemy catapults, I'm confident our cannons will be able to force them out of range."

"I'm not so sure," said Sakura, "Some catapults can toss a rock pretty far."

"That's where I come in." There next to Henry appeared Elaine.

"What the…Elaine! What are you doing here?" Henry asked.

"Did you honestly think you could go marching off to save the kingdom with out me?" Elaine asked, "Besides, I'm be best magic user in Andalasia, and the only mage in the whole kingdom who could get here in time. If there's anyone who can create a shield strong enough to protect this fortress from enemy artillery, it'll be me."

"But…" said Henry, "But Elaine, what happens if you get hurt? I don't think I could live if you died."

"She's not going to die," said Clare as she entered the war room, "Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Oh for crying out loud, Clare!" said an exasperated Henry, "There's no way you're going to be here. You know that if Manos or any of his minions see you, it'll just make them that more eager to fight."

"I know," said Clare, "And that's why I've asked Hinata-Chan to put a genjutsu on me. Ready, Hinata-Chan?"

"Ready, Clare-Chan," said Hinata. She made her hand signs and created an illusion over Clare. She now appeared to be at least two inches taller, had much shorter black hair, a more plain looking face and slightly lighter eyes.

"As far as Manos and his foul hoard are concerned," said the disguised Clare as she donned a nurses apron and hat, "I'm just another healer."

"And is your boyfriend Jacob okay with this?" Sakura asked.

"It was Jacob who suggested it in the first place," said Clare, "And don't worry about him, he's be here to make sure I'm safe."

"You called, my lady?" said Jacob Douglas as he entered the room. The guardsman now wore an infantry uniform.

"I see that you're enjoying your new promotion, Tactical Sergeant Douglas," Henry said.

"I am grateful for this opportunity, my prince," said Jacob, "And I promise, I will do my best to defend my kingdom, and to protect the life and soul of the one I love."

"Makes me wonder who'll show up next," Henry muttered.

"I'll bet Natalie is getting comfortable with Kiba as we speak," Naruto said in a teasing manner.

Henry was about to retort when Keith grabbed his attention, "My prince, forgive me, but your father asked that I return to the capital once you and the defenders were settled in."

"You're not staying with us?" Henry asked.

"I wish I could," said Howard, "Nothing would please me greater than to fight by your side, but I must return to assist the main army. Hopefully I'll be able to get our forces ready to fight a little sooner."

"I understand," said Henry, "Good luck, Commander Howard." He then saluted Keith.

"Good luck to you, Prince Henry," said Keith as he to saluted, followed by a bow, then left.

"Now where was I," said Henry, "Oh yeah, I was about to yell at Naruto for making fun of my sister."

"I wasn't making fun of Natalie or anyone!" Naruto protested.

Henry was about to retort, when he was once again interrupted. This time it was a soldier, hastily handed him a message. "I'm not sure I understand this," said Henry as he looked the message, "Really, I can't read this."

He handed the note to Sasuke, who immediately recognized the kanji script, "It says; 'The Kazekage has arrived to give assistance to Andalasia.'"

"'Kazekage!'" said a surprised Sakura.

"What's a Kazekage?" Clare asked.

"You're going to find out," said Naruto, "Believe it!"

In the assembly yard of the fortress, the 500 Andalasian defenders and varied support workers stopped what they were doing to observe the new arrivals. Naruto and the others emerged from the inner fortress to see Garra, Temari, Kankuro and about four dozen Sand Shinobi.

"Garra!" said Naruto as he hurried down to the yard, "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing here?" Garra asked in his usual quiet, slightly raspy tone, "The threat of Manos has a long reach, one felt as far away as the Hidden Sand Village."

"At least eleven assassins carrying the crest of Manos tried to kill Garra a few weeks ago," said Temari, "The Kazekage killed the first ten by himself, but managed to leave the eleventh alive for questioning."

"Only one?" Sakura asked.

"One was enough to get a confession," said Kankuro, "Once we told him what we Sand Shinobi do to assassins who get caught alive."

"And just what do you Sand ninjas do to captured assassins?" Henry asked.

"I'm afraid we're not at liberty to discuss that," said Kankuro, "Village security, you understand."

"But let's just say that the one who was captured alive, didn't need much convincing," said Temari, "We learned that Manos was aiming start a new Shinobi War among the Hidden Villages, so that there would be little resistance once he was done with Andalasia. So here we are to stop him before he get's any further ."

"Forty-eight of Sunagakure's best fighters," said Kankuro, "Each one a Jônin with at least five confirmed kills. Counting Temari, Garra and myself, fifty-one."

"That's not much of an improvement," said one of the Andalasian soldiers.

"Yeah," said another defender, "There's only five hundred of us who could be ready to man this fortress."

"The enemy has thousands and thousands coming this way," said a third soldier, "So I don't see how another fifty can help us."

"Is that so?" Garra asked. He then addressed the assembled Andalasian soldiers, "Tell me, how many of you were farmers before taking up arms in defense of your kingdom?"

Of the five hundred Andalasian soldiers, just over 200 raised their hands.

"And of the rest of you," said Garra, "How many were craftsmen or artisans, or any other kind of tradesperson?"

Nearly all of the remaining defenders raised their hands, revealing that none of them were professional soldiers before the crisis began. Only a handful, such as Jacob and Henry, had any prior military training before the call for volunteers went out.

"I see," said Garra. He then addressed his fellow Sand ninjas, "Sons and daughters of Sunagakure!! What is your profession!!?"

The forty-eight Sand Shinobi, as well as Kankuro and Temari, raised their kuni knives as one and shouted together, "DEATH!!"

"As you can see," said Garra to the Andalasian defenders, "I brought far more warriors than you did."

"Creep," muttered Shikamaru, Kiba and Chouji.

"I heard that," said Garra, "Oh, and before I forget," he walked over to Kiba and slapped him hard across the face, "That was for talking about me behind my back."

"Since when did I talk about you behind your back?!" Kiba asked accusingly as he felt to see if his face was cut from where Garra hit him, it wasn't but he'd fell a little sore for a while, "Oh wait, I remember now, sorry."

"Apology accepted," Garra said dryly.

"Well I'm glad you're here," said Naruto as he held out his hand, "We'll take any help that can be given."

"And it is given freely," Garra said as he shook Naruto's hand.

"There's something about those two," Clare said, "I can't quite put my finger on it, but they seem to exhibit a mystical connection, or at least a deep bond of some sort."

"It's difficult to explain," said Sakura, "But for now, let's just say that Garra and Naruto have a lot in common."

"They don't seem like that," said Elaine, "Forgive me for speaking ill of someone who has come a long way to help, but I sense something terrible about Garra."

"He's a dangerous man," Kiba said, "A merciless killer. You want my honest opinion, don't try to get too close to him. Garra may be a respective leader, he's still a bit unpredictable." He was then proved correct when Garra sneaked behind him and smacked him on the back of the head.

"What did I do!?" Kiba exclaimed, "Oh, right, sorry."

"I just received word," said Henry after another soldier handed him another message, "All the roads and passes along the border have been destroyed. This pass is the only way into Andalasia."

"Now all we need to do is wait for Neji, Tenten and Bushy Brows," said Naruto.

"We won't have long to wait," said Sasuke. He was looking to the west, and with his Sharingan, he saw three small dust trails approaching the fortress. Sakura and several others looked out with spyglasses to confirm that Lee, Tenten and Neji were heading straight for the fortress as fast as they could. Henry ordered that some rope ladders be lowered over the first wall.

About ten minutes later, Neji and his group were inside the fortress proper. "Success," gasped Neji, "We destroyed all of the enemy cannons." He had every right to be breathing hard, as were Tenten and Lee. They all looked like they had been running non stop at top speed for days.

"We encountered the enemy camp two nights ago," said Tenten once they had regained their breath, "It's worse than we thought."

"The enemy ranks has swelled beyond our previous estimates," said Lee, "Well over 200,000."

"I don't get it," said Naruto, "How can this creep Manos keep making his army bigger? Where is he getting all those soldiers?"

"That's the bad news," said Neji, "But we'll get to that soon enough. To continue, we infiltrated their camp an hour after sunset, located their cannon depot and destroyed them with the dynamite."

"We also destroyed their supply of gunpowder," Tenten added, "They won't be blasting these walls any time soon."

"If Manos wants to destroy us with cannons," said Lee, "He'll have to wait for replacements from the west."

"But that's not going to happen," said Sasuke, "Is it."

"Indeed," said Neji, "We made sure that several enemy soldiers saw us, and we were sure to leave a visible trail. I figure we had an hour's head start before they started chasing us. The rest of the army is no doubt close behind them."

"That's good," said Henry, "They're sure to come here. But what's this about bad news?"

"Among the enemy camp," said Tenten, We saw more than men, humans I mean."

"Manos has at his disposal hundreds of lesser demons," said Neji, "As well as a wide variety of monsters. None of them are as powerful as The Nine Tailed Fox, but they're enough of a problem as it is."

"Fortunately none of the fell creatures we saw had wings," said Lee, "It's reasonable to think that we won't have to defend against flying monsters."

"Well that's good," said Naruto, "I guess."

It was then that one of the soldiers on lookout shouted that there was another dust cloud approaching from the west.

"That will be the cavalry the enemy sent after us," said Neji.

Outside Naruto and the others saw several hundred horsemen approaching the walls. The stopped outside of cannon range.

"I'll bet they weren't expecting such a well prepared defense," Sakura said.

"What do you think they're doing?" Naruto asked, "They're just standing there."

"I'll bet they're deciding whether or not to report back to Manos," said Sasuke, "Oh, looks like they are." Sure enough, the horsemen turned around and galloped back the way they came.

"This is it," said Sasuke, "It won't be long before the main army approaches," he then looked at Henry, "This would be the right time for you to say something to your fellow defenders."

Henry nodded, then called for the attention of the soldiers defending the fortress, "My fellow Andalasians. The hour is at hand where we shall be put to the test. Now is the time when we must stand fast and firm against the forces of darkness. Now is the time to stand together and fight, and if needed be, to fight to the finish.

"The beast Manos threatens to crush our beloved kingdom and plunge the whole world into eternal night. We must not let that happen. If we fail, all of Andalasia may die. We must not let that happen.

"I of all people should know, that in a time of crisis, such as this, one's heart can sometimes wavier. I know that more than some of you have families whom you love as much as you love our land, and to choose between them must be a terrible experience.

"If any of you wish to stand down and return to your homes and loved ones, do so now, nothing will be said against you."

There was a minute or so of silence before one of the defenders spoke up, "Prince Henry, I speak for all of us when I say that there is no other place we would want to be than right here."

"We're with you, Prince Henry!!"

"Long live Andalasia!!"

"Now that's what I call loyalty," Neji said.

"Indeed," Shino agreed.

Just then the ground began to tremble, "Earthquake?" Kiba asked.

"No," said Garra, "They're coming."

The lookouts began shouting that another dust cloud was approaching from the west, but this one was the biggest one yet. Even though the enemy was still several miles from the pass, the Andalasian defenders still felt the ground shake from the encroaching hoard.

"I think we're in a lot of trouble," Sakura said as she looked through a spyglass. She and the others saw thousands upon thousands of men and fell creatures approaching the fortress, all of them intent of wiping our heroes out.

"You ain't kidding," said Ino.

**The end of chapter 14.**

Naruto: Okay, I'll admit it, we're screwed.

Sasuke: No we're not, we haven't even started yet.

Shikamaru: I knew I should have stayed in bed today.

Chouji: And miss out on all the fun?

Shikamaru: You always had a different definition of fun than I did.

Ino: If you're going to argue like this, then you should just go home and hide under your beds.

Sakura: We're all in this together, so let's do our best and give the enemy hell!

Naruto: Yeah! We'll show Manos what it means to mess with us!

Hinata: Next chapter; Face to face, Manos revealed.

Rock Lee: Be sure to leave lots of dynamic reviews!


	18. Chapter 15: Face to Face! Manos Revealed

**Chapter 15: Face to Face! Manos Revealed!**

Just then the ground began to tremble, "Earthquake?" Kiba asked.

"No," said Garra, "They're coming."

The lookouts began shouting that another dust cloud was approaching from the west, but this one was the biggest one yet. Even though the enemy was still several miles from the pass, the Andalasian defenders still felt the ground shake from the encroaching hoard.

"I think we're in a lot of trouble," Sakura said as she looked through a spyglass. She and the others saw thousands upon thousands of men and fell creatures approaching the fortress, all of them intent of wiping our heroes out.

"You ain't kidding," said Ino as she and several more defenders used their spyglasses to get a better idea of the enemy hoard.

Among the enemy ranks were several divisions of infantry; each soldier armed with swords, shields, axes, spears, and wearing armor ranging from light to heavy.

Further in the hoard were well over ten thousand archers, or so Neji counted.

At least 35,000 men were on horses, excluding the thousands of officers; the cavalry ranks were filled from light to heavy, all armed with lances.

Towards the rear were hundreds of catapults, while bringing up the rear were the wheeled bases for what would eventually be siege towers.

And throughout the enemy ranks were hundreds upon hundreds of vile creatures; partly lesser demons and mostly summoned monsters.

"This is worse than worse," said Henry.

"Well what are you going to do about it?" Sasuke asked.

Henry didn't answer Sasuke. He then addressed his fellow Andalasians, "Friends, you see what's before you. I know that you said that you'd stay, but I will say again, anyone who wishes to leave may do so now, nothing will be said against you."

None of the Andalasian soldiers moved an inch from their posts.

"Very well," said Henry in a firm tone, "So here we stay."

"Well said," Neji commented.

"I have something better," said Garra. He turned and jumped to the top of the fortress keep. Facing the rear defenses, he pointed his hand at the top left of the pass. Focusing his chakra, Garra caused a small area of the rock walls to crumble into sand. He then aimed his hand down the wall, drawing a line in the pass. He continued out onto the pass floor and up the other side, so now there was a line in the pass just beyond the rear defenses.

"Do you see that?!" Garra called out to the defenders, Andalasians and Shinobi alike, "That's as far back as we will go until the mission is accomplished, and the mission will not be accomplished until the enemy is defeated! And the enemy will not be defeated until they are all dead! This fortress is where we make our stand against the hoards of Manos! This is where we hold them! This is where we fight! This is where they die!!"

Henry was at a loss as to what to say next. Fortunately Sasuke was close by to whisper the general idea of something inspiring.

"Remember today, fellow Andalasians, for what we do today, and the next, and for as long as it takes, what we do here will be remembered for all time. Manos and other lunatics like him seek immortality by foul means, but true immortality is to never be forgotten. We shall have our glory in history!"

This caused a round of cheers from the Andalasians defenders.

"Very nice," Naruto said to Henry.

"Don't thank me," said Henry, "Thank Sasuke."

"I only hinted as to what should be said," Sasuke remarked, "They were your words."

"Looks like they're getting ready to attack," said Sakura. At that time the enemy had reached the outside of the pass and were making camp. Meanwhile, they had sent into the pass a large number of infantry; each enemy soldier armed with sword and shield and wearing light armor painted black with a purple-outlined hand. Several of the enemy infantry were carrying hastily constructed siege ladders. They had stopped just outside of cannon range.

At the front of the enemy formation was one officer on horseback, "Andalasians! Surrender and face the judgment of the true master of the world, the Dark Lord Manos!"

"You think you can hit that creep from here?" Henry asked Sasuke.

"No problem," said Sasuke. He pulled out an extra large, collapsible shuriken, unfolded it and threw it at the officer. The enemy officer watched the shuriken arcing up and then down towards him, not realizing what was happening before it was too late. The oversized shuriken sliced through the head of the officer. He fell off his horse, dead before he hit the ground.

"One down," said Chouji.

"And hundreds of thousands to go," said Shino.

"Salves of Manos!!" exclaimed Henry, "Come and get us!!"

From the enemy's side of the pass came the sound of several horns sounding at once, followed by several shouts of…

"ATTACK!!!"

…and with that the enemy formation charged at the defensive wall, screaming and holing their war-cries

"Steady!!" exclaimed Henry, "Wait until they're in range!"

Along the three walls and in the upper ramparts of the fortress, the cannon crews waited for the signal to light their fuses.

"Show them no mercy!!" shouted Garra, "For they shall show you none!!"

By now the enemy soldiers were five-hundred yards from the first wall.

"Steady!!" shouted Henry as the enemy reached the four-hundred range, then three-fifty, then three-hundred, "FIRE!!!"

The long-range cannons shot first, hitting the enemy ranks with solid shot, punching holes in their formations. With their Byakugan, Neji and Hinata estimated that at least 60 were killed and another 50 wounded. But the enemy kept coming.

"Archers!!" shouted Henry as the long-range cannons reloaded, while the enemy was now within two-hundred yards of the wall. The Andalasian archers drew their bows and took aim, "LOOSE!!"

At least another 60 were killed and 40 wounded by the arrows, but the enemy kept coming.

But now they were in range of the smaller cannons and muskets, "FIRE!!" shouted Henry. The short-range cannons blasted the enemy with smaller shot and shrapnel, sending another 70 to their deaths. Those armed with muskets aimed and fired, slaying another 30 and wounding twenty more.

And yet they still kept coming. Henry ordered another volley of arrows into the enemy ranks, killing another 70 or so. At the same time the muskets were reloading and were soon firing at a continuous rate. But then the enemy had reached the wall and began hoisting their ladders. Naturally the defenders knocked down the ladders as they came up, but a few stayed up long enough for some enemy soldiers to scamper onto the walls.

Fortunately Kiba, Akamaru, Neji and Tenten were on the front wall at that time and helped out in dispatching the enemy soldiers. All the while the archers on the second and third walls kept shooting over into the enemy ranks, while the cannons were angled so they shot over the defenses. Menaced by arrows, musket and cannon fire, the enemy attack was soon routed, breaking ranks and running back to their camp outside the pass.

Up and down the defenses the Andalasian cheered as the enemy ran.

"I'd say we're off to a hell of a good start," said Chouji as he munched on some jerky.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," said Neji. Over towards the enemy camp, several thousand archers had taken up positions and loosed their arrows at the fortress. To the defenders, the sight of thousands upon thousands of arrows blocking out the sun, was a chilling sight indeed.

"You just had to say that we'd fight in the shade," Kiba said to Shino in a annoyed tone.

"Take cover!!!" shouted Sasuke. The defenders had only seconds to get behind anything at hand; a large part of the wall, inside the fortress or even behind a barrel or supply crate, before the arrows descended upon them. For almost a minute the air was full of the sound of arrows clacking against stone, but nobody in the fortress was hit. In fact, the only casualties from the arrow salvo were the enemy wounded who were left behind in the first attack.

Finally the rain of arrows ceased and the sun shone again. "All clear!" said Sasuke.

Tenten picked up several arrows that were still intact from clattering against the stone fortifications, "Decent arrows," she said as she examined them, "we can use these."

"How's that for irony," said Ino, "The enemy getting their own arrows sent back to them."

"Well here's a bunch that Manos won't get back," said Naruto as he picked up several arrows. He then stood atop the wall, making sure that he could be seen from the enemy camp. Naruto then grasped the arrows in both hands and snapped them in half. He then spat on the broken arrows and tossed them down onto the battlefield below.

"What was that about?" Clare asked from inside the main fortress. "Why did Naruto make such a show of breaking some arrows?"

"I could be wrong," said Jacob, "But I believe that Naruto just sent a message to Manos, a message of defiance."

"Nicely put," Hinata said to Naruto.

"Thanks," replied Naruto, "I wanted to do something else, just to make a point, but for some reason, I just couldn't think of anything."

"Well it think breaking those arrows was appropriate enough," said Sakura, "Since they were Manos' arrows, by breaking then, you showed the enemy that their strength in numbers amounts to nothing."

"Okay," said Naruto, "But what I really was saying to the enemy was 'go to hell,' but what you just said was just as good."

"You could have flipped them the bird," said Chouji, "That's a good way of saying 'go to hell.'"

"I can think of several more," said Sasuke, "But now's not the time."

At the other end of the pass the enemy was regrouping for another attack.

Throughout the day a pattern formed. The enemy would charge at the walls, ignoring the cannon fire, musket fire and arrows launched from the Andalasians. Each attack was repulsed by Naruto and the defenders. Between attacks our heroes took cover against the hail of enemy arrows. But only half a dozen Andalasians were killed, while less than thirty were wounded during the attacks and most of them were soon healed and fit for duty again.

Things were much different with the enemy; the forces of Manos had suffered casualties in the thousands. Unofficially, the enemy body count so far was around 4,500 dead. There were less than a hundred wounded still alive by the time the fighting stopped, mostly due to the barrages of enemy arrows kept landing among the enemy fallen.

It was late afternoon when the enemy seemed to decide that they had done enough for the day. After about half an hour of waiting, Henry decided that it was safe to clear the battlefield. Since it was obvious that Manos wasn't going to ask for a truce to help his wounded and collect his dead, the Andalasians would.

"They may be the enemy," said Henry, "But that doesn't give us the right to just let them sit and rot."

With several soldiers watching the enemy camp for a sneak attack, several squads and several healers went down the wall to help any wounded that they could and clear aside the dead bodies for disposal.

While several dozen Naruto clones were helping clear the battlefield, the real one was having a discussion with Henry, Sasuke and Garra over what they could do to get ready for the next attack, when Haku appeared beside them.

"Naruto," said Haku, "I need to talk to you."

"We're in the middle of something," Henry said, who obviously didn't know that Haku wasn't just another mercenary.

"It's alright, Henry," said Naruto, "I'll get back with you in a minute. What's up, Haku?"

"We really need to discuss the tactics you and the others are employing for this battle," said Haku, "You are seriously mismanaging two valuable resources; Zabuza and me. I have not had a chance to use my Kekkei Genkai all day."

This was true, for Haku's special abilities weren't suited for a defensive battle such as this, and Zabuza's enormous sword didn't fit well with the defensive layout of the walls. So the two mercenaries were waiting in reserve at the second wall, which is a bit wider than the first, more ideal for Haku's special Jutsus and Zabuza's sword style.

"I feel for you, Haku," said Naruto, "Check back with me later, I've got an idea I want to run by you."

"You're sure about that?" Haku asked.

"Would I ever lie to you?" Naruto replied.

"I guess not," said Haku, "But I'll hold you to your word."

"You'll get more than you asked for, Haku," said Naruto, "More killing than you'll ever want, believe it."

It was then that one of the lookouts shouted that someone form the enemy camp was approaching the fortress. It turned out to be one rider bearing a flag of truce.

Sasuke approached the rider, whom gave a small scroll to Sasuke and turned back to the enemy camp.

"It's a message," said Sasuke, "For Henry."

"It seems that Manos wants to talk," said Henry after reading the scroll, "In person no less."

"A trap by any other name is still a trap," said Garra.

"If Manos wanted to assassinate me," said Henry, "He would have done it before we even got to the fortress. Besides, he wants to talk to all of us."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"I mean you, Naruto," said Henry, "You, Sasuke and Garra as well. Manos wishes to speak with the four of us, and he'll be here soon to do it."

Sure enough a large party from the enemy camp entered the pass. It was too small to be an attack, only 100 infantry, 20 cavalry and 20 archers, all surrounding one man wearing black wizarding robes. They stopped about halfway into the pass, well out of cannon or arrow range.

"Well?" Henry asked.

"Well what?" Sasuke asked.

"Well are we going to go talk to Manos or not?" Henry asked, "I mean, what if it is a trap? For all of us."

"If Manos were to try to assassinate us," said Garra, "He would have done so already, as you said. It's clear that the enemy wishes to talk; it would be impolite to keep Manos waiting. Besides, there's no reason we can't be civil about all of this." With that he started towards the middle of the pass.

"That Garra is insane," said Henry.

"Tell us something we don't know," said Naruto as he and Sasuke followed Garra. Henry hesitated for a second before going after them.

They met up with the enemy group about halfway through the pass. They stopped ten yards from each other. The robbed man walked forward and faced Henry.

"Prince Henry Orison," said the robbed man, "Son of King Joshua," he then focused his hooded face on Sasuke, "Last of the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke Uchiha," then turned towards Garra, "The 5th Kazekage, Garra of the Desert. And finally, the Number One Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, and host to the 9-Tailed Fox, Naruto Uzumaki."

"You've done your homework, Manos," said Naruto, "That is…well…you are Manos, right?"

"Indeed I am," said the robbed man. He lowered his hood to reveal a very pale face with short black hair and very red eyes. Other than that, he looked rather ordinary.

"Okay…" said Naruto in a disbelieving tone. _Is this really Manos?_ Naruto thought.

"I'm sure that I am not what you expected," said Manos, "Not the image of a man obsessed with bringing the world under one banner."

"The banner of slavery and terror you mean," said Sasuke.

"One must do what one must do," said Manos, "In order to claim what is rightfully his."

"If you truly believe that you and you alone can control the whole world," said Garra, "Than you are more of a madman than I am."

"Oh?" said Manos in a slightly surprised and insulted tone, "What do you mean by that?"

"No single individual can rule the world," said Garra, "It's to big for any man, or any group, no matter how powerful, to control. So may have sought to rule all, and so many have fallen. I may be a murdering bastard, but I'm content with what I have."

"Well I'm not content," said Manos, "Nor will I ever be content until I've brought the world to its knees."

"And why would the world ever kneel before you?" Sasuke asked.

"They will kneel," said Manos, "And they will, not in respect, but out of fear, fear of my divine power. With fear comes obedience. It is only a matter of time before all will learn to fear and obey their true god."

"Some god you are," said Naruto in an annoyed tone, "If you're so powerful, then strike me down now. Come on, I dare you. Well, I'm waiting for something awe inspiring."

"That would be far too vulgar a display of power," said Manos, "To simply destroy you in an instant would be far beneath me. But you'll soon see the truth of my divinity."

"Enough chatter," said Henry, "You wanted to talk, so talk."

"I thought we were talking," said Manos, "Of course, business before pleasure. I have seen the courage and determination you, Henry, and your fellow Andalasians have shown today, and I am impressed.

"I was prepared to burn your precious kingdom to the ground and cast anyone left alive into chains, but I have my merciful moments; swear fealty to me and proclaim me as your god, I shall spare your kingdom and all it's people. All I ask for is loyalty and obedience, and in return, you shall be allowed to go about your simple lives."

"That's it?" Naruto asked, "You're just going to let Henry off the hook?"

"I did say that I have my merciful moments," said Manos, "And don't think that I will leave you out, Naruto Uzumaki. I am especially impressed by you, and your fellow Shinobi. Having heard of your and your friends dealt with Francine and Silas, which are no small feats to say the least, such acts merit respect, and rewards. I offer you this; if you and your friends were to bow down before me and pledge your loyalty, and I shall grant you and your friends more power than you can possibly imagine.

"Think about it; you shall be warlords of the Shinobi nations. Your respective villages shall prosper like never before. Your enemies, the Hidden Sound Village, or anyone who has slighted you in the past, they shall be reduced to ashes and their inhabitants put to the sword, or in chains if you wish it. Again, all that I ask is obedience and loyalty.

"And before you answer, think of the alternative. The handful of my followers that you killed today was only a taste of what is to come. I have far more where that came from, and I have far more than men at my disposal. You must realize that your position is hopeless. So think carefully about what you wish for a future."

"I have to admit," said Sasuke in a contemplating tone, "He does have a tempting offer. With that kind of power, we'd be able to find Itachi and the Akatsuki in no time."

"I would do almost anything to save my people," said Henry, "If only to prevent further bloodshed."

"A very tempting offer," said Garra, "One only a madman would pass up."

Naruto was about to yell at the three of them for saying such stupid things, but Garra wasn't finished talking.

"However, I happen to be a madman, so I'll have to decline your generous offer."

"Same here," said Sasuke, "I'll find and deal with my former brother in due time, so thanks for the deal, but no thanks."

"I know for a fact that every man woman and child in Andalasia would rather die than submit to you, Manos," said Henry with solid determination in his voice, "And so would I."

"Looks like you've thrown a foul ball in your sales pitch," said Naruto, "And as for your followers, all I see is an army of slaves, a big one, but still full of slaves who follow you out of fear, not respect. So take your offers and your threats and shove them up your ass."

"If it is the hard, painful way with you," said Manos in a dark but calm tone, despite the insults hurled at him, "So be it. When I'm done with your pathetic fortress, which won't last for much longer, I can promise you that, I'll enslave every man, woman and child in Andalasia. Most will be sacrificed to my divine glory, while those fit for fighting will be added to my host, where we will march north and destroy the Shinobi nations.

"Every Shinobi will be put to the sword and your villages will be completely obliterated. All records of ninjas shall be burned, and the mere mention of the word Shinobi shall be punished by death. Within fifty years the world shall have forgotten that you ninjas even existed."

"You're wrong," said Sasuke, "When this battle is over, I promise you, the world shall know that a handful of brave men and women took a stand against fear and tyranny. All will know that few stood against many, and that even pompous self claimed gods can bleed."

"Say whatever you wish," said Manos, "It doesn't matter. The hands of fate have condemned you all." With that he turned back towards his guards and they went back to their camp outside the pass.

"That guy's a total ass," said Naruto, "believe it."

"Oh I believe it," said Henry, "But he's a serious ass, one that means business."

"He may be full of himself," said Garra as they headed back to the fortress, "But the threat is still here."

"And so are we," said Sasuke, "Believe it."

"Quit saying that!" said Naruto, "Only I can say that, it's my phrase!"

"I can say whatever I want," said Sasuke.

"We are so doomed," sighed Henry as he and Garra hung back a few paces to watch Sasuke and Naruto bicker.

"Don't complain to me," said Garra, "I've had to deal with those two a lot longer than you have."

Over at the enemy camp, Manos was fuming over the fiasco discussion, "Those fools have no idea of what they have invited. They want a battle, they shall have one, one that they shall never forget."

He then called for one of his officers, "Captain, bring up The Reavers."

"Forgive me, Lord Manos," said the officer in a shaky, somewhat frightened tone, "But did you say to…"

"You heard me," said Manos, "The Reavers, I want them in position after sundown."

"As you command, Lord Manos," said the officer, his voice trembling with terror of things to come.

"A pompous self claimed god, am I?" Manos asked himself, "I'll show them who's pompous." He then spoke to his many servants, "I'm not pompous, am I?"

There was then an over eager chorus of 'No,' 'Not at all,' and 'Never' from his minions

"I thought not," said Manos in a smug tone.

"What happened?" Elaine asked Henry as they got back up to the wall.

"Well," said Henry, "They won't surrender."

"That was so funny I forgot to laugh," said Shikamaru in his usual bored tone.

A few minutes later Naruto caught up with Haku again, "Remember that idea I said I wanted to talk with you about?"

"Yeah," said Haku, "What about it? What is it you want me to do?"

"It's a good one," said Naruto, "And we're going to need it. For if I'm right, tonight is going to be pretty wild, believe it."

The end of chapter 15.

Naruto: I said it before, and I'll say it again; that Manos guy is nuts, believe it!

Henry: Oh I believe it, and it's about time I got to say something in the previews.

Clare: Me to.

Elaine: Me three.

Jacob: I'm only a minor character, but I deserve some dialog time as well.

AndrewK9000: Everyone will get their chance to speak, I promise.

Henry: Who's that?

Sasuke: Here we go again. He's the writer.

Sakura: Next chapter, 'One Wild Night.'

Shikamaru: Be sure to leave plenty of reviews, it'll be such a drag if you don't.

Ino: Everything's a drag to you.


	19. Third Flashback

**Third Flashback**

It had been nearly three months since Naruto brought Sasuke back to Konogakure. Three months of waiting for the tribunal that would decide Sasuke's fate.

From the moment Sakura and Naruto hired a lawyer from Sasuke, the outcome didn't look good. Village law dictated that both sides were allowed to see the evidence against Sasuke prior to the trial. The evidence was clear; Sasuke knowingly and willingly abandoned The Hidden Leaf Village and joined forces with Orochimaru. If found guilty, the judges would most surely seek the death penalty.

The best chance Sasuke had, as his lawyer told him, was to plea insane. If it could be proven in court that Sasuke's actions were due to temporary insanity, then he would certainly live. Yet this outcome would be almost as bad as the fast track to the gallows, for Sasuke would be ordered to spend the rest of his life under psychiatric observation in the mental ward of the village hospital. In a sense, Sasuke would receive life imprisonment.

"It's either that," his lawyer said, "Or a date with the hangman's noose."

The night before the trial, Sasuke spoke to Naruto and Sakura in private. Naruto assured the guards that Sasuke wouldn't try anything desperate.

"This insanity plea is bull sh$t," Sasuke said, "Even if the judges buy it, I'm good as dead anyway."

"Don't say that," Sakura said, "You'll be alive. Even if they do stick you in a padded room and make you wear one of those jackets that make you hug yourself, you'll still be alive. I promise I'll come visit you everyday."

"It wouldn't be the same," Sasuke said as he reached through the bars of his cell to hold Sakura's hand, "How can I be expected to live my life behind locked, padded doors? How can I go on if I can only see you an hour a day, Sakura? Especially now when I've finally realized that I truly love you."

"I know it's unfair," Sakura said, "But what else can we do? All the evidence is against you. And two of the judges on the tribunal want you dead. It'll be a miracle convincing the other judges to let you live."

The law of the village dictates that a trial of this magnitude have five judges, with the verdict made by majority rule. The judges must be unbiased on the case. However, as Sakura said, two of the judges who were chosen for Sasuke's trial have highly biased opinions.

"How can they get away with this?!" Naruto said, "Can't Granny Tsunade do something about the judges?"

"The Fifth Hokage," Sakura said in a slightly annoyed tone, "While the leader of the village ninjas and protector of the village, had little say over matters of village law in situations like this. I'm sorry, Naruto, but there's nothing Lady Tsunade can do to help Sasuke."

"I still can't believe that Sasuke's only option is to plea crazy," Naruto said, "There's got to be a loophole or something that we can use."

"If there was a loophole in the law," Sakura said, "Our idiot of a lawyer would have found it by now."

"I wonder if it's not too late to hire a different lawyer?" Sasuke said, "No, it would only buy us a few more weeks to go over evidence that clearly says I'm guilty."

"Well I'm not giving up!" Naruto said, "I didn't spend four years of my life trying to bring Sasuke back to you, Sakura, only to have him killed for something that really wasn't his fault."

"It was my fault, Naruto," Sasuke said, "I abandoned the village of my own free will."

"It wasn't your fault!" Naruto insisted, "If anyone is to blame, it's your stupid brother, Itachi. You left the village so that you could get strong enough to take him and The Akatsuki down. And the only reason you left to join Orochimaru is because he put that curse mark on you."

"That's the whole point for Sasuke pleading insane," Sakura said, "The curse mark was interfering with his judgment. That's why I'm gonna testify on Sasuke's behalf. I'll tell those judges that it really wasn't Sasuke's fault that he did what he did. If there's anyone who should be punished for all of this, it's Orochimaru."

"Too bad you can't execute someone who's already dead," Sasuke said.

"See," Sakura said, "There's another reason why you shouldn't be executed. You killed Orochimaru and freed Konogakure from the greatest threat it has seen since The Nine Tailed Fox."

Deep within Naruto's subconscious, he felt a distant astral tremor as the contained spirit of The Nine Tailed Fox sneezed.

"They have no right to execute you, Sasuke," Sakura said, "They ought to be giving you a medal."

"Wait a second," Naruto said, "Sasuke, did you just say that you did what you did of your own free will?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said in a slightly confused tone, "So?"

"So," Naruto said while grinning widely, "That's it. I know how you're gonna avoid getting hanged, Sasuke."

"Wait, you want me to plead guilty?" Sasuke asked, "How's that going to help me stay alive?"

"The judges won't expect you to plead guilty," Sakura said, "Nobody will. It may cause the judges to show some leniency."

"If we do this right," Naruto said, "Not only will the judges let you live, they'll have no choice but to let you go free."

"Where are you going with this?" Sakura asked.

"It won't be easy," Naruto said, "We'll all have our part to play in this, you too, Sakura. In fact, I'll have to hurry if I'm gonna convince Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji and a lot more to do their part."

"I still don't follow," Sakura said.

"Me neither," Sasuke said.

"You trusted me to bring Sasuke back to you, Sakura," Naruto, "Now I'm asking you and Sasuke to trust me to save his life and freedom." He then flashed a reassuring smile, "This will be my greatest stunt yet, believe it!"

The next morning was the big day of the trial. Nearly everyone in the village was gathered in a huge amphitheater-like courthouse that was constructed just for Sasuke's tribunal. Apparently the ruling council of the village wanted to make an example out of Sasuke.

At exactly 9:05 in the morning, the trial began. Everyone stood up when the five judges entered the courtroom. Each judge was a man or woman of high standing in the village.

"Sasuke Uchiha," said the middle judge, one Rika Nakajima, matriarch of the Nakajima clan, "You stand accused of high treason against The Hidden Leave Village, and of aiding and abetting our enemies, The Hidden Sound Village, and of willingly and malice of forethought, joining forces with the late Orochimaru. How do you plea?"

"Your honors," Ken Myazaki, Sasuke's lawyer started, "My client pleads-"

"Guilty on all charges," Sasuke interrupted as he stood up. This caused everyone in the audience to start talking all at once. Some were murmuring in confusion, others were gabbing over this new turn of events, while a few shouted in outrage.

"What are you doing?!" Ken asked Sasuke.

"The right thing," Sasuke answered.

It took several minutes before order could be restored in the courtroom. "Sasuke Uchiha," Rika Nakajima said, "Have you discussed with your lawyer-"

"My attorney has nothing to do with this," Sasuke interrupted again, "In fact, Mr. Myazaki no longer represents me." This caused another burst of noise from the audience, "In order to save time," Sasuke said above the din, "And to make sure that the truth and the whole truth of my actions are made clear, I will represent myself."

"Are you _trying_ to get yourself hanged!?!" Ken exclaimed.

"I'm trying to get the truth out," Sasuke said, "Which is more than what you wished me to do. And by the way, you're fired."

"This is obviously an ill-conceived ploy to cause a mistrial," said the judge on the far left, one Ryu Saito, who was in charge of one of the village's lead merchant guilds. Naruto had already identified Ryu as one of the judges who wanted Sasuke dead.

"All I seek is to tell my side of the story," Sasuke said, "This is no attempt to buy more time. I just want to get the truth out."

The five judges then talked among themselves for a minute or so in order to debate on what to do. Finally they decided, "Very well, Sasuke Uchiha," Rika Nakajima said, "For the record, you may tell your story."

"I thank you," Sasuke said as he bowed in respect, "I'll begin where it began for me. The night my brother Itachi murdered my family and everyone who served the Uchiha clan was the worst night of my life. For his own selfish reasons, Itachi Uchiha betrayed everything that our clan stood for. Yet he left me alive, so that one day my hatred and desire for revenge would make me strong enough to kill him."

Sasuke then told everything that happened to him since that terrible night ten years ago, leading up to being partnered with Naruto and Sakura, to the events of the Chûnin Exam when Orochimaru put the curse mark on him, to his decision to abandon the village and join Orochimaru, to where he betrayed and killed Orochimaru, finally ending to his capture by Naruto.

"I could have stopped at any time," Sasuke said, "Before I finally decided to leave the village. I could have given up my desire for revenge and get on with my life with my friends, but I chose not to. I chose, of my own free will, to betray my friends and village. But worst of all, I betrayed the one who would have done anything for me, all out of love."

This caused Sakura to blush, but she maintained her composure.

"And what of the curse mark?" said the second judge from the left, one Kou Yamato, chairman of the Yamato shipping guild, "Are you suggesting that you were not influenced by it at all?"

"The curse mark granted me incredible power," Sasuke said, "But it came with a terrible price. Not only did it carry dire risk to me physically, it also inhibited my sense of reason. The dark power of the curse mark affected my judgment, causing me to act in a manner unbecoming of a Leaf Village Shinobi. I'm not saying that the curse mark made me do what I did. No, I chose to allow the curse mark to affect my actions. Even after Kakashi Hitake did all that he could to prevent me from using the curse mark, I still allowed myself to fall victim to it's addictive power.

"So by my own free will, I chose to abandon The Hidden Leaf Village and join with Orochimaru, all in the pursuit of more power. I did all that I did so that I would one day be strong enough to kill my brother. There's no excuse for what I did, only the truth. In short, I'm guilty, that's my explanation."

"Have you anything else to add to your testimony?" Rika Nakajima asked.

"No, your honor," Sasuke said, "I've said all that I have to say. I await the judgment of this tribunal."

"I have something to say!" Naruto said. Once again the courtroom erupted in murmurs and shouts of outrage.

"You are out of order, Naruto Uzumaki!!" exclaimed the second judge on the right, one Jubei Akima, a senior member of the Anbu Black Ops, whom was the other judge who wanted Sasuke dead.

"You're out of order," Naruto said, "For trying to kill Sasuke without hearing all of the facts."

"How dare you!!" exclaimed Ryu Saito. It was obvious that he was one of the village nobles who still saw Naruto as nothing more than a vessel for The Nine Tailed Fox.

"I think he should be allowed to speak," said Kou Yamato, "We wouldn't want to condemn someone to death without hearing all the facts, would we?"

"I agree," said Rika Nakajima.

"Well I disagree," said Jubei Akima, "Nothing this boy has to say has anything to do with the preceding of this tribunal. He should remain silenced." His words betrayed the fact that Jubei was another who saw Naruto as a threat.

"Not so," said the judge on the far right, one Minako Ikaro, one of the village's top artists, "I do believe that the testimony of Naruto Uzumaki would be of great importance. Besides, he did bring Sasuke Uchiha back to this village to face judgment."

This caused murmurs of agreement from the audience. Sakura couldn't help but look at Naruto with amazement; this was almost exactly what Naruto said would happen.

"What say you, Lady Hokage?" Kou Yamato asked.

"Let Naruto speak his peace," Tsunade said, "We owe him that much."

"Then it is agreed," Rika Nakajima said, "The floor is yours, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Thanks," Naruto said, "Ladies and gentlemen of Konogakure; you all know me, The Number One Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja. I've done more than my share of mischief and monkey business, but that's not the issue here.

"The life of my friend is at stake. You've heard his story; Sasuke admitted his guilt. But is he _really_ to blame? Does he really deserve to die for his crimes? There's more going on here than one ninja's desire for revenge. If anyone should be held responsible for Sasuke's actions, it should be his brother, Itachi. But since nobody can find Itachi, or anyone else of the Akatsuki, we'll just let that go for now.

"Another party responsible is Orochimaru. He put the curse mark on Sasuke so that Sasuke would be driven even further into darkness, eventually leading to Orochimaru passing his soul into Sasuke's body. But we can't punish Orochimaru since he's dead. In fact, we owe Sasuke a lot for killing Orochimaru."

"That had already been taken into account," Rika Nakajima said, "I assume there's a point to your dialog, Mr. Uzumaki."

"There is," Naruto said, "Since we're all looking for someone to blame, someone to punish, it might as well be me. I'm just as much to blame for what Sasuke did as Orochimaru and Itachi."

This caused the courtroom to erupt in murmurs of surprise and confusion.

"You see?!" Ryu Saito exclaimed, "He's just trying to get a mistrial!"

"I am not!!" Naruto snapped, "I'm trying to explain my part in all of this. So just sit and spin!"

"You are running out of leeway, Mr. Uzumaki," Rika Nakajima said, her voice betraying her impatience and annoyance, "Get to the point!"

"My point," said Naruto, "Is that I contributed to Sasuke's decision to abandon the village and join with Orochimaru. Sasuke and I have been rivals since the day we met all the way back in Ninja Academy. The two of us competed against each other over who was the best. Up to a few months before the Chûnin exam four years ago, Sasuke was way ahead of me.

"You all remember what I was like back then, so I won't drag that up. Anyway, things between me and Sasuke changed when we were put on the same team together. We were forced to put aside our differences for the sake of our missions, and for a while, we at least grew accustomed to each other.

"Then things began to go down hill for Sasuke when Orochimaru put the curse mark on him. I was unconscious at the time and didn't know that Orochimaru bit Sasuke until much later, but that's another story. Anyway, the curse mark drew upon Sasuke's desire for revenge, making him want to be even stronger. The fact that I was getting stronger as a Shinobi fueled Sasuke's desire for power further.

"It was after our mission to The Land of Tea, when Sasuke wound up in the hospital again, while I came home with barely a scratch, that Sasuke decided to abandon his village. He saw me as an obstacle to overcome on his quest for revenge. So Sasuke decided to gain power anyway he could, even if it meant joining with Orochimaru.

"I tried everything in my power to bring him back to the village when he first ran away. I wasn't strong enough to stop him, and I regret it. For four years I've trained to become a stronger ninja, all so I could fulfill a promise I made. Four years later I kept that promise, so here we are."

"You try this court's patience, Mr. Uzumaki," said Jubei Akima in an unsympathetic tone, "Is there a point to your dialog or not?"

"My point, ladies and gentlemen of the court," said Naruto, "Is that I'm as responsible for Sasuke's actions as he was, so if you're going to hang him, you might as well hang me with him."

Once again the courtroom erupted in confusion as Naruto sat down.

"Well spoken," Sasuke said, "But what's the point of getting yourself executed along with me?"

"Just you wait," Naruto said, "It ain't over yet, believe it."

"If you are so eager to die with your friend, Mr. Uzumaki," said Ryu Saito, "So be it!"

"Wait!!" said Sakura as she stood up, "I'm as responsible for Sasuke's actions as well. I tried to show Sasuke how I felt for him, but all I did was help push him away from the village. You might as well hang we too."

"And me as well!!" said an eager Rock Lee as he stood up, "I too became an obstacle that Sasuke sought to overcome, so you should prepare a noose for me at the gallows as well!"

"And us!!" said Neji as he and Tenten stood up.

"Us too!" said Kiba as he, Shino, Hinata and Akamaru stood up.

"Same here!" said Ino as she and Chouji stood up. Shikamaru hesitated for a few seconds before standing up also.

"This is outrageous!!" snapped Jubei Akima, "You younglings should know better than this! Now sit down before you are all held in contempt of court!!"

"If you're so eager to hang children," said Kakashi as he stood up, "You might as well hang this old campaigner."

"No way you're getting hanged before I do!" said Might Guy as he stood up, "I shall die in the prime of youth!!"

"You two are such a pain," said Kurenai Yuhi as she stood up, "But since you're getting hanged, I might as well join the party."

Several more in the courtroom stood up and expressed their eagerness to share in Sasuke's fate; among them were Konohamaru and his team, with a reluctant Ebisu. Also standing up was Iruka, Shizune, and several more Genin, Chûnin and Jônin.

"This is completely unacceptable!!" exclaimed Ryu Saito.

"It certainly is," said Tsunade, "There'll hardly be any Shinobi left in the village if this keeps up."

"Don't tell me you have desires to be hanged as well, Lady Hokage!" said an exasperated Rika Nakajima.

"Not really," said Tsunade as she scratched Tonton behind his ears, "But I believe I have a solution that everyone will find satisfactory. I suggest that the months that Sasuke has been imprisoned in the village since his capture, should be counted as time served. And that he be placed under strict probation, supervised by Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno of course."

"Out of the question!!" exclaimed Ryu Saito, "Sasuke Uchiha deserves to die for his crimes!!"

"Does he?" asked Minako Ikaro, "From what I have heard today, I believe that Sasuke has true regret for his actions, and that he wished to atone for his crimes. I think he should be given that chance. I agree with the Hokage's suggestion."

"So do I," said Kou Yamato, "Sasuke should be given a chance to redeem himself."

"Well I wholeheartedly disagree," said Jubei Akima, "This whole trial has been a fiasco. I suggest that Sasuke Uchiha be put to death at once!"

"My thoughts exactly," said Ryu Saito.

"Well I don't think that way," said Rika Nakajima, "For if we were to hang Sasuke, we would have to hang nearly every Shinobi in the village, and we're still somewhat shorthanded. I say that Sasuke Uchiha be allowed to live."

"Majority rules," said Minako Ikaro.

"Indeed," said Kou Yamato. He then told Sasuke to stand up, "You are guilty, Sasuke Uchiha, and you are free to go."

It was total silence in the courtroom for a few seconds. Then Kakashi began to clap, followed by Might Guy, Kurenai, Iruka, eventually leading to just about everyone applauding.

Still slightly stunned by the outcome of the trial, Sasuke had to blink several times before he realized that not only was he going to live, but was as nearly a free man as can be. He looked behind him to see Naruto grinning widely.

"I don't know how you pulled this off, Naruto," said Sasuke, "But you did it."

"No, Sasuke," said Naruto, "We did it. And I think there's someone whom you'd like to be alone with."

Sasuke then looked at Sakura, her eyes filled with joyful tears. With that they embraced. They then left the building for some well earned alone time.

"I said it before," Rock Lee spoke as he and Naruto exited the courthouse, "And I'll say it again; you are indeed a splendid ninja, Naruto."

"Who'd have thought you'd have the brains to pull off something like this," said Shikamaru.

"Well maybe you would," said Ino, "If you ever managed to get a little motivation in you."

"Not this decade," said Chouji as he munched on a bag of cheese curls..

It was as the crowd thinned, when Naruto was heading back to his apartment, that he saw that Hinata was waiting for him across the street.

"Um, Naruto," said Hinata in her usual shy tone, "Can…can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh, sure, Hinata," said Naruto, "What's up?"

"Well," said Hinata, her fingers rubbing together again, "I…well...I just want to say…what I mean is…I think what you did for Sasuke, it was truly amazing. And I just want to say, you really are a great ninja."

"Oh," said Naruto, "Well, thanks, Hinata."

"And," said Hinata, "Well, I…um…I just want to ask…if it's not too much trouble…"

"What?" Naruto asked, "What wouldn't be too much trouble?"

"Well…I…what I want to ask…do you think…would it be alright if we got together at some point and…I mean…if we were to hang out for a while."

"You mean a date or something?" Naruto asked.

"I…err…um…" Hinata couldn't seem to find the right words. Now that it was out in the open, all of her fears of rejection came rushing back. She was less than ten seconds from fainting when…

"Sure," said Naruto, "We could go on a date. What do you have in mind?"

This was a complete surprise for Hinata. She was so sure that Naruto would say no, she was completely unprepared for his acceptance. "Well, I…um… I guess I'm available for dinner tonight."

"Dinner it is then,' said Naruto, "Pick you up at six?"

"Make it 6:15," said Hinata, her voice a little more confident than it was thirty seconds ago.

"Sounds good to me," said Naruto, "I know this really great ramen shop."

"Ramen sounds nice," said Hinata, "I'll see you then. With that she headed for her home, while Naruto headed for his.

In her mind Hinata cursed herself for not being more open with Naruto, for allowing her fears and self doubts to get in the way. But then she did manage to ask Naruto out, and he did say yes; a good start.


	20. Chapter 16: One Wild Night

**Chapter 16: One Wild Night**

The sun had set two hours previously and the stars were shining brightly, providing the defenders with plenty of light. Naruto and the others had helped clear the battlefield and prepare for the next attack, which they were sure would come that night. They were as ready as they could be, so now they only thing they could do was wait for Manos to make the next move.

"This plan of yours, Naruto," said Neji, "If it's as half as crazy and stupid as some of your more interesting ideas, and if it works, I'll pay your ramen tab for the next month. No, make that two months."

"You got yourself a bet, Neji," said Naruto, "And I intend to collect , or should I say, you'll collect the bill."

"Whatever," said Neji, "Let's just hope we're all still here to settle the bet."

"We will be," said Naruto as Neji walked back towards the main fortress, "Just you wait." He then made his way back to the first wall, where he found Sakura and Sasuke in serious discussion.

"Something doesn't add up," said Sasuke, "Manos is supposed to have several highly-skilled magic users at his disposal, so why didn't he send any of them to attack us today? Why only use regular infantry?"

"I'm only guessing," said Sakura, "But from what I've heard, magic users are much harder to come by than soldiers. I figure that Manos is keeping his magic users in reserve, while wearing us down with blunt force attacks."

"I agree," said Sasuke, "Manos will probably send in his mages when we're all dead, or at least nearly all dead."

"Well we're not dead yet," said Naruto, "And don't talk like that, Sasuke."

"I'm just being realistic, Naruto," said Sasuke, "And you didn't let me finish. I was going to say that, if your plan for tonight works, then Manos will be forced to use his magic users long before he planned to."

"Oh," said Naruto, "Well in that case, bring them on, for if the enemy magic users are anything like that Francine girl, I think I can take care of them."

"Francine nearly crippled Hinata," said Sakura, "And you had to call on the power of the 9-Tailed Fox to defeat her. What happens if you use the demon energy again? You did tell us that the demon was getting restless."

"You're right," said Naruto in a serious tone, "If I do use the demon power, and the 9-Tailed Fox tries to escape again, while we're in the middle of a fight, then we'll really be in trouble. Sooner or later we're going to have to do something about old 9-Tails."

"Well you figured out how to catch me," said Sasuke, "And Sakura figured out how to remove the curse mark, so I'm sure that between the three of us, we'll think of something."

"You know," said Naruto, "Coming from you, Sasuke, it sounds almost believable."

"Thanks a lot," Sasuke said in a slightly annoyed tone.

It was then that Henry came up to where our heroes were standing. "Everything's set as you instructed," he said to Naruto, "Now, would you mind explaining this plan of yours?"

"It's easy," said Naruto, "We got Manos really riled up earlier, so now he's gonna want us finished real quick."

"I think I know where you're going," said Sasuke, "Or at least I think I know. Whatever, you believe that Manos will send his best at us tonight."

"Something like that," said Naruto, "If we can beat back the best Manos has, then we can take just about anything he can throw at us, believe it."

"I'll believe it when I see it," said one of the Andalasian soldiers, who's name was Urik Henderson, "For Manos has more than men at his disposal."

"We know," said Sakura, "He's got some demons and monsters as well."

"More than that," said another soldier, one Rachel Novon, "We all heard the stories from the old days, from when Manos was first banished from the kingdom. He had at his command a large number of men and women transformed by dark magic into killing machines."

"We all thought it was just a myth," said a third soldier, one Wesley Chriswald, "Like we all thought Manos was. But since that lunatic is real, then what's to say that The Reavers aren't real?"

Nearly every Andalasian within earshot, including Henry, flinched at the word.

"What a Reaver?" Sakura asked, producing another flinch from the Andalasians.

"They were the creations of Manos," said Rachel, "Like I said, men and women twisted by dark magic into inhuman killing machines. They slaughtered thousands when Manos first attempted to take over Andalasia. Fortunately they were wiped out when he was banished, but he's had four centuries to make more."

"Since then the stories of Manos' creations have become mere myth," said Wesley, "cautionary tales to get naughty children to behave; 'Don't track mud into the house, or The Reavers will come and get you.' 'Eat your vegetables, or The Reavers will come and get you.' 'Brush your teeth, or The Reavers will come and get you.'"

"Will you stop saying that!?" snapped Urik, "You're giving everyone the willies!!"

"Oh," said Wesley, "Sorry."

"Well myth or not," said Sasuke, "We'll beat back anything Manos sends at us, even if they are these Reavers. Oh, sorry."

"So what's so bad about these guys?" Naruto asked, "The minions of Manos that make people shudder?"

"They eat people," said Henry, "All the stories about 'them' give vividly graphic description of cannibalism, or not, for 'they' aren't really human."

"It's worse than that, Prince Henry," said Rachel, "You didn't hear all the tails of 'them' growing up as we commoners did. There are many accounts that tell of 'them' viciously raping men, women and children. If that wasn't bad enough, when 'they' are done feeding and pleasing themselves, they would skin their victims and wear the flesh as clothing."

"Sometimes 'they' would skin their victims first before raping them," said Urik, "And sometimes they would do all three at the same time."

"And I thought Orochimaru was a monster," said a disgusted Sasuke.

"How sick can you get?" Naruto asked, "Making creatures like that?"

"With the likes of Manos," said Henry, "The sky is the limit."

It was then that the lookouts signaled that there was movement up the pass. Special spyglasses that were charmed to see in the dark were passed around. Sasuke, Neji and Hinata didn't need them, but what they saw was the same as those with the spyglasses. A large square formation was approaching from the enemy camp.

"I'd say there are 10,000 coming towards us," said Neji, "One hundred square."

"They don't look like soldiers to me," said Naruto as he looked through one of the night-vision spyglasses. What he saw was a lot of men and women dressed in ragged clothing. Even though it was night, the spyglasses showed that the strange people had pale faces.

"What gives?" Chouji asked, "Is Manos sending a bunch of zombies against us?"

"They look alive to me," said Shikamaru, "But something doesn't feel right about this."

"I've got the same feeling," said Sasuke, "Henry, could these things be Reavers?"

"I honestly don't know," said Henry, "Nobody really remembers what they looked like."

"It's them alright," said Rachel, "It has to be. All the tales of 'them' tell that 'they would always approach their targets in total silence. Sometimes they were seen before attacking, but never heard."

It was somewhat disturbing to Naruto and the others to see so many 'people' approach the wall without making any noise. They stopped just outside of cannon range. The next minute or so was very tense as both sides stared at each other. Rather, the defenders starred. The attackers just stood there, the night-vision spyglasses revealing glazed eyes in the enemy.

"What now?" Henry whispered to Naruto, as if afraid that his voice would cause the enemy to charge.

"Tell everyone to standby on the plan," whispered Naruto, "And be ready for anything."

It was then that a lone rider from the enemy camp appeared behind the formation. "Reavers! Kill!!"

It was like a switch was flipped. The Reavers's eyes started glowing sickly green. They barred their teeth that had been sharpened into fangs.

"Kill!!" exclaimed the enemy rider.

The Reavers began growling and shrieking like wild animals, as if in anticipation of the slaughter to come.

"KILL!!!" the rider shouted one last time, before turning back and galloping to the enemy camp.

The Reavers then ran towards the wall, some of them on all fours like wolves, others upright, with their hands raised up like claws. They moved so fast that they were soon within 100 yards of the first wall.

"Cannons, fire!!" Henry ordered. The defenders opened up on the enemy; the initial broadside from the short-range cannons on the first wall killed several dozen Reavers, but they moves so fast that they were soon at the base of the wall.

The next surprise came when The Reavers began jumping onto the wall, they leaped onto the fortifications as if they were grasshoppers or some kind of animal that could jump good.

Once on the wall, The Reavers fell upon the defenders as if they were wolves attacking a dear, ripping and tearing at the Andalasians with clawed hands and teeth.

However, the Andalasian, while outnumbered, had the advantage in defensive armor and weapons, while The Reavers wore only rags and had only teeth and claws.

Another advantage the defenders had was that Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Henry were at the first wall, encouraging the Andalasians to hold their ground and keep fighting against the savage enemy. Over on the second and third walls the archers shot at The Reavers when they had a clear shot.

"Any time, Naruto!!" exclaimed Sasuke as he stabbed a Reaver in the head with a Kuni. The defenders were holding their own for the time being, but it wouldn't be long before the sheer numbers and ferocity of The Reavers overwhelmed the first wall.

"Just a bit more, Sasuke!" shouted Naruto as he kicked a Reaver off the wall.

"Define a bit more!" shouted Sakura as she threw four shuriken at some Reavers attempting to devour one of the Andalasian soldiers.

"Any second now," said Naruto as he tossed a Reaver off the wall with an over the shoulder throw, "Okay! Garra! Phase One!!"

Over on the second wall Garra stood waiting for the signal from Naruto. He made his hand signs, "Earth Style: Desert Impalement!!"

The Reavers, so intent on their victims, were completely oblivious to the fast that the ground from 150 yards out from the wall was covered in a layer of sand. As Garra activated his Jutsu, the sand contracted and shot up from the ground as large spikes, impaling and killing well over 200 Reavers, while crippling another 300.

"Tenten!" shouted Naruto, "Phase Two!!"

Tenten, who was also on the second wall, channeled her Chakra and activated a chakra-based fuse, sending a pulse of energy over and down the first wall and out to hundreds of concealed paper bombs that Kiba and Akamaru helped lay that afternoon. The simultaneous explosions killed about 500 Reavers, while crippling another 1,000.

"Haku!" shouted Naruto, "Zabuza! Phase Three!!"

Up on the third wall, Zabuza used his mastery of water-based Jutsus to blanket the battlefield in a very dense fog bank. Haku then activated his Kekkei Genkai and condensed the fog into several areas in the ranks of The Reavers. The condensed fog then solidified into domes of ice, trapping hundreds of Reavers.

Earlier that afternoon, while preparing for the battle, Haku told Naruto that he had used the years since their last encounter to refine his signature Jutsu so that he could manipulate it from a distance. This only delighted Naruto, saying that it would work perfectly with his plan.

"Water Style!" said Haku, "Multi-Crystal Ice Mirror Jutsu!!"

Inside the domes of ice, the trapped and confused Reavers were further perplexed by the appearance of several images of Haku. At first glance this seemed to be only a Genjutsu, but the multiple Hakus in the domes then began throwing razor-sharp needles at the trapped Reavers. Within minutes, all the ice-caged Reavers were dead.

The ice domes then fractured into sheets of ice, while the Haku images began jumping from mirror to mirror, throwing their needles at any Reaver they encountered.

By now the first wall was clear of attacking Reavers; the remaining ones had ceased their assault in order to deal with Haku's attack.

"I take back every negative thing I've ever said about you, Naruto," said Henry, "You are a great ninja."

"Told you so," said Naruto.

"You can be smug later, Naruto," said Sakura, "There's still a couple thousand Reavers to deal with."

"I know," said Naruto, "I'm on it," he made his hand signs, "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!!" Where there was one Naruto, now there was 200 at the first, second and third wall, "Charge!!" shouted the real Naruto as he and the clones jumped onto the battlefield and began attacking the Reavers.

"If he think he's going to have all the real fun tonight," said Zabuza as he made his way down to the first wall, "He's got another thing coming." Drawing his enormous sword, Zabuza leapt onto the battlefield and attacked the nearest Reavers.

"Save some for us!" shouted Sakura as she and Sasuke leaped over the wall.

"Counterattack!!" exclaimed Henry, "Take them down! Take them down!!" With that he and several dozen Andalasians and half the Sand Ninjas, jumped onto the battlefield and did their part in the slaughter of The Reavers. Within an hour all 10,000 day dead.

"Well, Neji," said Naruto in an all too happy tone, "Looks like you owe me dinner for the next two months."

"I'll write you a check when we get home," said Neji through gritted teeth.

"Great," said Sakura as she looked around the battlefield once all the killing was done, "We just cleaned up here. Now we'll have to do it all over again."

"I don't think the night is over yet, Sakura," said Sasuke. Using his Sharingan, Sasuke could see clearly to the other end of the pass, where Manos stood on a raised platform to watch the battle.

"Hey Manos!!" shouted Naruto, "Is that the best you can do?!"

Manos didn't respond with words. Instead he raised his hands up to the stars and began chanting in a language that Naruto and the others couldn't understand, but Elaine could.

"It's a summoning spell," said Elaine, "And a big one."

"How big?" Henry asked.

"How's that for big?" Sakura asked as she pointed at three large vortexes forming over the battlefield. From the first vortex emerged a 8ft tall minotaur with razor sharp horns. From the second came a 16ft tall yeti with four arms. And from the third vortex appeared a large vulture with short flightless wings, but stood at 6ft and long legs with claws that could gouge concrete and a beak that could shred steel.

"Oh crap," said Naruto, "This looks bad." Indeed, all of the fighting he and the others did that day had really taken a toll on their stamina.

"I really don't want to fight those things," said Sakura. She, Sasuke and Henry were also feeling the strain of the days' efforts.

"Fear not, Miss Sakura!" said Rock Lee eagerly as he, Chouji and Kankuro arrived on the scene, "We shall contend with these monstrosities!"

"Lee, you take the ugly one," said Chouji, indicating the minotaur, "Kankuro, you take the other ugly one," he pointed at the vulture, "And I'll take the really ugly one," indicating the yeti.

"How come you get to choose?" Kankuro asked, "Oh never mind, let's do this!"

"Indeed!" said Lee as he faced down the minotaur, who was charging at him, intent on impaling Lee on its horns. Lee easily dodged the lethal horns, but the minotaur was faster than it looked; it changed directions and went after Lee again.

Chouji had activated his Full Body Expansion Jutsu, and was currently wrestling with the yeti, while Kankuro was keeping the vulture busy with two 'Crow' puppets. The name was a bit confusing, for his puppets didn't look anything like crows. The looked humanoid, but with four multi-jointed arms, gray skin and three eyes.

Over with Lee, he stayed several steps ahead of the minotaur, while looking for an opening to attack. While dodging the monsters' horns, and wearing it down in the process, Lee remembered something that happened to him a few weeks before the mission began.

FLASHBACK

"Lee, the time has come for you to learn a special fighting technique. One that has been passed down from master to student for well over 2,000 years." In one of the many training halls in The Hidden Leaf Village sat Might Guy and Rock Lee.

"It must be an incredible technique," said Lee, "A Taijutsu move over 2,000 years old. I can hardly wait to learn it!"

"It isn't Taijutsu," said Guy, "Lee, have you ever heard of Hokuto Shinken, 'Devine Fist of the North Star'?"

"Only rumors," said Lee, "A fighting style so powerful, so deadly, that only one person at a time can fully master it."

"True," said Guy, "But the individual techniques can be taught to more than one student. The lesser students are usually taught one or two techniques, but a few can learn more. But as I said, only one can be deemed worthy to fully master the style."

"Really?" Lee asked, there were stars in his eyes, "How many techniques do you know, Guy-Sensei?"

"Three," said Guy, "It took me months to be able to execute each technique upon the first attempt. However, being as you've made yourself to be a genius of hard work, Lee, I estimate that you will have each technique mastered within weeks."

"I will not fail your expectations, Guy-Sensei!" Lee said eagerly.

"That's the spirit!" said Guy, "We shall start with the first one I learned. Unfortunately we don't have the time to teach you all three, so we'll just practice the one. And when you've fully mastered that, we'll start on the next one."

"I am so ready!" exclaimed Lee, "When do we start!?"

"Not just yet, Lee," said Guy in a more serious tone, "Before we begin there's something we need to get straight. These techniques I'm going to teach you, as well as the rest of Hokuto Shinken, are potentially dangerous, more dangerous than your average martial arts. In the wrong hands, they can wreck devastation beyond your worst nightmares. But in the hands of a true martial artist, they can be used for good.

"I want you to promise me, Lee, that you will only use these techniques in a dire situation, the same kind you would use The Lotus Jutsu, or when you would open the Inner Gates."

"I understand, Guy-Sensei," said Lee, "I swear, on my honor as a Hidden Leaf Shinobi and as a martial artist, that I will only use these techniques when they are truly needed."

"You truly are a splendid ninja, Lee," said Guy, "Very well, let's get started!"

END FLASHBACK

_Guy-Sensei,_ thought Lee, _Thank you for trusting me with such a powerful and dangerous technique. I did swear to use it when necessary, and it is necessary to use it, when protecting the lives of those precious to you!_

Recognizing the pattern in the minotaur's attack, Lee rushed at it just before the monster was going to charge at him. His counterattack confused the minotaur, allowing Lee the opportunity to jump. Reaching even height with the monsters' head, Lee raised his arm and brought down a devastating chop right between the creature's eyes.

"Mountain Splitting Wave!!" exclaimed Lee. The landed and jumped back out of harms way. But the danger was gone, for his chop had cracked the minotaur's head in half. The creature fell to the ground dead as a doornail.

"I don't believe it," said Shino, "Lee also knows Hokuto Shinken."

"Makes you wonder what everyone else is hiding," said Kiba, while Akamaru softly growled 'Right.'

Chouji's fight was also over. Having maneuvered behind the yeti, he used his chakra-expanded arms to try and break the monsters' neck. The yeti twisted out of the clutch, only to find that Chouji had changed his attack to a choke hold. It took two minutes, but the monster was dead. Chouji then released the Jutsu and returned to his normal size.

Over with Kankuro, the puppet master from the Hidden Sand Village was just about to end his fight. His 'Crow' puppets had concealed blades in their arms that were laced with poison, as well as poison gas nozzles in their mouths. Unfortunately, the vulture was immune to the poison, but could still bleed. Kankuro directed his puppets to slash and stab at the monster, while having them avoid the vulture's sharp claws and beak.

It was then that Kankuro had his puppets go on the offensive, forcing the vulture to back up until it was in position for what Kankuro had planned. He then released the Genjutsu concealing another of his puppets, this one a large one with six arms, a long and wide torso and a head rather like a cow, which is a little strange since Kankuro named this puppet 'Ant.'

He then directed 'Ant' to open its torso. The two 'Crow' puppets then forced the vulture into the empty cavity in 'Ant's' torso. The opening then closed, creating a chakra reinforced container. The vulture thrashed about to get lose, but 'Ants' body was just too strong.

Kankuro then directed his two 'Crow' puppets to detach their arms and heads from the main bodies. The arms went ridged and unfolded long blades from the ends, while a large spike extended from each of the heads. The bladed appendages and heads positioned themselves around 'Ant.'

"Ninja Art: Iron Maiden Death Strike!!" exclaimed Kankuro.

The blades then stabbed 'Ant', impaling the vulture inside and killing it.

"Is that it?" Chouji asked, "Any more monsters needing slaying tonight?"

"It's all up to Manos," said Sasuke, "It's his move."

"I think he's already made it," said Sakura. Above the fortress a storm was brewing, and a really big one at that.

"Where did those clouds come from?" Tenten asked.

"Manos," said Neji, "He's making this storm."

Just then a large bolt of lighting shot at the fortress. It would have destroyed a large section of the walls; fortunately, Garra saw it coming and used his sand to block the lighting, which dissipated on the hastily formed sand shield.

"I'd like to see Manos try that again," said Garra.

"He doesn't have to," said Henry a she looked at the enemy camp through his night-vision spyglass, "He's getting his catapults into position. Everyone! Back up the wall!!"

By the time Naruto and the others were back up the first wall, the enemy had begun bombarding the defenses with boulders and pots full of burning oil. Yet this strategy was for naught, for Elaine had used her magic to set up a self sustaining shield which protected the entire fortress and walls from the enemy barrage. The boulders and flaming pots bounced harmlessly off the shield.

"It should last the night," said Elaine, "And I should have another one prepared for tomorrow night."

"In the meantime," said Sasuke, "We'll have to do something about those catapults."

"Save them for the morning," said Naruto as he tried, but failed, to hold back a yawn, "Right now I could use a little shut-eye."

"Hold it, Naruto!" said Sakura, "Who said you could sleep, while the rest of us stayed awake?"

"We may be safe from above," said Sasuke, "But the enemy may try another direct attack again. We should keep watch."

Naruto saw the reasoning of this and agreed. He and the others then played Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who would keep watch first. Naturally, Naruto was among those who would stay awake the first few hours.

Fortunately it wasn't so bad, especially when Hinata came up to the wall and sat next to him.

"I thought your turn wasn't until later," said Naruto.

"I traded mine," said Hinata, "I was hoping we could keep watch together, Naruto-Kun."

"I always enjoy your company, Hinata-Chan," said Naruto. With that they enjoyed the free light show provided by the fire pots exploding against the shield.

The end of chapter 16.

Naruto: Not bad for the first day, don't 'cha think?"

Shino: Yes, a good start indeed.

Kiba; I'll bet that Manos is feeling pretty stupid right about now.

Neji: At the very least, he's feeling a very human chill.

Sasuke: And for a man who fancies himself a living god, that's deep.

AndrewK9000: Well if you thought that today and tonight was pretty wild, wait until you see what happens tomorrow.

Temari: Oh? What's going to happen tomorrow that'll make today seem like a trifle? And when am I going to do something? I haven't had any lines or fight scenes for ages.

AndrewK9000: You'll get what you want, sooner than you think.

Garra: Next chapter, 'The Killing Field.'

Kankuro: Be sure to leave lots of good reviews!


	21. Chapter 17: The Killing Field

**Chapter 17: The Killing Field**

"Naruto," said Sasuke, "It's time."

Naruto muttered something incomprehensible as he rolled over on the cot that was set up for him inside the fortress. He and Hinata kept watch at the walls for about four hours or so and were then relieved by Shino and Neji. Saying their goodnights, Naruto and Hinata went to bed, not together of course, they're not ready for that level of intimacy.

"I said it's time to get up, Naruto," said Sasuke in a more firm tone.

"Yeah, got to make sure the noodles are just right," Naruto murmured.

"Let me handle this," said Sakura, "Naruto, we've got work to do, so get your fanny perpendicular this instant, or else."

"Pass the chopsticks, will you, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"That does it!" said Sakura, "Get up, you frigging ramen-head!!" as if merely lifting a book from a table, Sakura picked up the cot, with Naruto still in it, and threw both against the wall. The impact broke the cot and brought Naruto out of his ramen filled dreams.

"What the hell, Sakura!?" exclaimed Naruto as he stood up.

"That'll teach you to sleep in when you're needed," said Sasuke.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, "Oh, we're in Andalasia! What's going on? Are we still being bombarded?"

"The enemy stopped their catapults a few minutes ago," said Sasuke, "We think they're going to attack again soon."

"Why didn't you say so?!" said Naruto as he removed the wrapper of a self-heating breakfast sandwich. It wasn't the same as ramen, but it would do, "Let's get going already!" He then rushed out of the room and headed towards the walls.

"That Naruto, he really drives me up the walls sometimes," said Sakura through gritted teeth, "I swear, one of these days I'm gonna cut him into little pieces, if the enemy doesn't get him first."

"I feel the same way sometimes," said Sasuke, "Unfortunately, Sakura, we're stuck with him, for better and for worse."

The enemy launched their attack just before the sun rose. Judging by the sheer numbers Manos was committing to this strike, the enemy seemed hell-bent on overwhelming the defenders.

"The joke's on them," said Henry, who seemed to be in a good mood that morning.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. It was confusing to see Henry smiling in the face of such numbers. By Neji's estimate there were nearly 50,000 enemy troops massing at the mouth of the pass for this attack.

"Wait a minute or two," said Henry, "You'll see."

"We may not have a minute or two," said Ino, for the enemy began their attack, cramming as many abreast as they could into the pass' narrowness.

But then the sun came up in the east, blinding the attackers. The charge faltered as those in front stumbled about in the brightness of the dawn, while those behind began piling up. The defenders watched as the enemy attack got so fouled up that they had completely stalled about 150 yards from the walls. In some places the enemy soldiers were so packed together that they couldn't move forward, backwards or sideways.

"This is so sad," said Sakura, "They're so mess up, I just don't have the heart to ask for a cannon strike."

"Well we can't just leave them there," said Naruto, "I mean, well, you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean," said Shikamaru, "No doubt Manos won't make the same mistake again, so we need to make this one count and kill as many as we can."

"I'll order the gun crews to load up with double shot," said Henry, "And have the archers standing by."

"You do that," said Shikamaru, "Or I could do something, even though it'll really be a real effort on by behalf, probably give me nightmares late on."

"What are you talking about?" Henry asked.

"This," said Shikamaru. He stood atop the wall, channeled his Chakra, and extended his shadow so that it now mingled with the shadow of the wall. The combined shadows then raced across the battlefield until it reached the congested enemy formation. Within seconds the air was filled with the screams of the dieing as the shadows constricted around the enemy soldiers and crushed them.

"Oh my gods!" said Elaine.

"That's so wrong on so many levels," said Tenten.

"Impressive," said Garra, "Very impressive. I didn't know the slouch had it in him."

The slaughter went on for another fifteen or twenty minutes; Naruto and the others didn't pay much attention to the time, they were so intent on observing what was going on.

By now the enemy soldiers in the rear realized what was happening and began retreating. Several soldiers were trampled in the rush to get off the battlefield, adding to the death toll.

Shikamaru then released his control over the walls' shadow, returning it to its normal length for the time of day. He then got down from the wall ramparts and started back to the fortress keep.

"You okay, Shikamaru?" Ino asked.

"I'll be fine," said Shikamaru, "I'm just going to go throw up for a while. It's no big deal."

"Well finish up as soon as you can," said Sasuke, "The enemy may try again before too long."

"I'll be as quick as possible," said Shikamaru, who was looking a little green in the face. But then Garra stepped in front of him.

"What?" Shikamaru asked impatiently, "I'm kind of in a rush."

"I've seen many things, Shikamaru Nara," said Garra, "Things that would drive a normal person to the brink of insanity. I've done many terrible things in my life, killed so many people, but what I've just witness was pure artistry." And just like that (insert finger snapping sound) Garra gave Shikamaru a hug.

"Umm," said a understandably confused Naruto, "Okay, this is weird."

Shikamaru was the most confused at Garra's sudden show of affection. Fortunately he didn't have to dwell on this for too long, for his breakfast threatened to come back up again. He hurried back to the fortress and spent the next twenty minutes in the bathroom.

It was estimated that 6,500 were killed in the failed attack, with another 11,000 wounded. Just as Shikamaru came back from the bathroom, a messenger approached from the enemy camp. Shino, Kankuro, Henry and four Andalasian solders went down a rope ladder to accept the message. After hearing what Manos had to say, Henry nodded to the messenger. He and his escorts returned to the wall, while the messenger went back to the enemy camp.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked.

"I just agreed to a one hour truce," said Henry, "So that the enemy can collect their dead."

"That's understandable," said Sasuke, "The battlefield is so choked with casualties, it'll have to be cleared before the enemy can try anything again."

"That doesn't make sense," said Ino, "I mean, the enemy didn't bother to clear the field yesterday, we had to do that ourselves. Why are they concerned now?"

"Maybe they've realized that things are gonna get messier than they thought," said Sakura.

Our heroes then watched for the next hour as thousands of enemy camp-followers cleared the dead from the battlefield, "No doubt brainwashed slaves, all of them," said Henry.

"We'll free them," said Elaine, "Once Manos is defeated."

The enemy slaves finished removing the dead from the field just as the allotted time expired.

"They're efficient," said Shino, "I'll give them that."

"Get ready," said Sasuke, "No telling what Manos will send next."

From the enemy camp emerged several dozen men and women dressed in mage robes with Manos' crest embroidered on them. Each one carried a black staff.

"Now what?" Naruto asked.

As if to answer, several enemy mages raised their staffs and shot dark-purple fireballs at the defenders.

"Incoming!!" shouted Sakura as the fireballs hurtled at the walls and fortress keep.

Elaine tried to cast a shield spell in time, but several fireballs made it past her spell, impacting on the walls and fortress, killing ten Andalasian defenders and wounding another thirty. But the walls withstood the fireballs with only minor damage.

Sakura and several healers, including Clare in her Genjutsu disguise, did what they could for the wounded; most of these injured suffered second and third degree burns. Fortunately the healers managed to heal all but one who happened to die from shock.

Meanwhile the enemy mages had launched another volley of fireballs. Elaine tried to block the attack, but she was only one magic user against several dozen. Fortunately, Garra had called forth a shield made of sand that moved above the defenses, blocking most of the fireballs that got past Elaine's spell.

"Can't we blast them back!?" Naruto asked after he and Sasuke dodged one fireball that got though.

"They're outside cannon range," said Sasuke, "And if we try to go after them directly, they'd see us well before we could attack."

"If I could get in range," said Ino, "I could fry their brains."

"You'd have to sneak up on them," said Neji, "And that's going to be harder than usual. I've watched their tactics; one group launches their spells at us while the other keeps watch on us to make sure we don't sneak up on them."

"We need something that'll distract all of them," said Tenten, "And I've got just the thing in mind, assuming Big Bob is ready."

"Big Bob is ready, willing and able," said Jacob Douglas, who happened to be at that area of the fortress, "He arrived last night and has been put together just this morning."

"Then tell the gun crews," said Tenten, "That it is time to 'Drop The Hammer.'"

"What does 'Drop The Hammer' mean?" Naruto asked.

"And who's Big Bob?" Sasuke asked.

"I have a feeling that we're about to find out," said Henry.

Big Bob wasn't much of a 'whom,' he was more of a 'what;' a very large cannon to be exact. One of the special projects that Tenten helped set up for the war was the construction of a breach-loading cannon that fired a specific type of shell. The components for the weapon were manufactured and shipped to the fortress.

"So this is a Big Bob," said Naruto as the gun crews moved the cannon to a firing port in the main fortress.

"Impressive," said Henry, "But what good will it do? Sure it has a larger range, but the enemy mages will surely block any projectile shot at them."

"Not this kind of projectile," said Tenten. The gun crews brought up several shells that had a gray stripe painted on them. As a shell was loaded into the cannon breach, Naruto and the others thought they heard liquid sloshing inside it.

"Everyone's ready," said a runner. Back down at the walls Ino, Hinata, Neji, Kiba and Akamaru waited for their chance to attack the enemy mages.

Just then the fortress shook as a fireball impacted.

"Any time, Tenten," said Henry in an impatient tone.

"Just as soon as I get this thing aimed," said Tenten as she adjusted the gun sights and elevation of the barrel, "Okay, everyone hold your ears!" She attached a lanyard to the trigger, put earplugs in her ears, gripped the lanyard, "Ready! Fire!!" she yanked on the lanyard; the cannon blasted it's shell towards the enemy mages.

One of them heard the shot and cast a shield over the assembled mages. The shell exploded as it hit the shield, but it was a muffled explosion, one with a lot of smoke.

"Direct hit!!" exclaimed Tenten, "Reload!!" Fifteen seconds later the cannon was ready to shoot again, "Fire!!" another shell came crashing onto the shielded mages, producing more smoke.

"I think I know what's going on!!" shouted Sasuke as the cannon reloaded and fired again, "It's a smokescreen cannon!!"

True enough, within minutes the enemy mages were enshrouded by a thick cloud of smoke so heavy that they couldn't see the fortress.

"Now's our chance!" said Neji. With that he, Ino, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru leapt down from the wall and rushed at the enemy mages, who were still blinded by the smokescreen. The smoke, which went right through the magic shield that was meant to block solid projectiles, rendered several of the mages incapacitated as they tried to cough out the black smoke.

Just then one of the mages found himself face to face with Ino. "Hi there!" she said before blasting the mage with a Mind Breaking Jutsu. With his brains effectively scrambles, Ino moved onto the next one.

Kiba and Akamaru had their hands and paws full of eviscerating more of the mages, while Neji and Hinata disabled the others with their Gentile Fist style.

Soon only a handful mages were left alive, those disabled by Neji and Hinata.

"Go on," said Neji to the survivors, "Go back to Manos."

The mages hesitated, as if anticipating a trap. When it was clear that Neji and his group were really going to let them go, they headed back to the enemy camp.

"I don't know if it's a good idea to let them go," said Kiba, "What's stopping them from attacking us again when their powers come back?"

Kiba's question was answered when the surviving mages were cut down by a volley of arrows from the enemy camp.

"Oh that's just plain sick!" exclaimed Ino.

"It's about to get worse!" said Kiba as another volley of arrows came hurtling at them. Fortunately, Neji and Hinata saw the arrows coming and blocked them from Ino, Kiba and Akamaru.

"Nice blocking," commented Ino, "Now can we get back to the wall before they try anything else against us?"

Neji, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru had no arguments, so it wasn't long before they were safely back at the wall.

"Why did they shoot their own mages?" a shocked Elaine asked. "I thought they were on the same side."

"Once again we've underestimated the evil of Manos," said Henry, who was watching the enemy movements through a spyglass. "I'll bet that Manos ordered the deaths of those mages, just to make an example to his minions."

"And I thought Orochimaru was pure evil," said Sakura.

"He was," said Sasuke, "And unpredictable, another thing he and Manos have in common."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Shikamaru. Thought a spyglass he saw another group of mages raise their staffs and started chanting. Soon the sky above the battlefield was choked with dimensional rifts, each spewing out vile creatures the likes of which mortal men aren't meant to see. Within minutes the battlefield was full of hundreds of monsters of various sizes and shapes.

"Now who didn't see this coming," said Shikamaru sarcastically.

"I didn't" said Naruto as the monsters headed towards the walls, "But I'm not gonna just stand around while these things come and get us!" he jumped onto the battlefield and made his hand signs, "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!!"

Where there was one Naruto there now was 200. They rushed to meet the oncoming monsters and began slaying them.

"If that knucklehead thinks he's gonna have all the fun," said Sasuke as he drew his sword, "He's got another thing coming!"

"Darn right!" said Sakura as she pulled out a pair of kuni knives. They both leapt onto the battlefield and joined the Naruto multitude in the monster slaying.

"Save some for us!" said Henry as she drew his sword and leapt onto the battlefield.

"The destruction of diabolical creatures would prove the perfect opportunity to improve my abilities!" said Rock Lee eagerly, "Guy-Sensei! I dedicate this battle to you!!" With that he leapt onto the battlefield and began destroying monsters with various Taijutsu techniques.

"Come on you apes!!" exclaimed Chouji to the defenders, "You want to live forever?!"

Several dozen Andalasian defenders followed Chouji onto the battlefield and joined in the fight.

The Naruto clones did most of the work, slaying as many of the monsters as possible. For each clone that was destroyed, at least five monsters died, mostly from kuni and shuriken stabs, and the occasional Rasengan attack.

Sasuke wound up starring down a really ugly one, a tiger-like beast that Henry would later identify as a Manticore. The creature had razor sharp claws and teeth and a spiked tail that could shoot poisoned barbs in multiple directions.

But Sasuke wasn't deterred by this monstrosity. He got behind the creature and stayed in its blind spot, while he charged his sword with Chakra.

"Lighting Blade!" he exclaimed when his sword was fully charged. Running at top speed, he jumped onto the Manticore's back and stabbed it in the heart, breaking the sword and leaving several pieces of chakra-charged steel in the creature's body, which is what finally killed it.

"At this rate," said Sakura as she caught up with Sasuke, "We're going to go through a lot of swords."

"You can say that again," said Sasuke as he looked at the shattered remains of his sword. It's true; normal steel just can't handle such a high level of chakra.

The remaining monster were all destroyed within fifteen minutes. Most of the slain creatures dissolved into goo that quickly evaporated, but quite a few remained to clutter up the battlefield.

Another messenger from the enemy camp approached and asked for another truce to clear the battlefield. Sasuke and Henry agreed, so now our heroes have another hour to rest.

"You're going through swords faster than Naruto downs ramen," Kiba said to Sasuke, while Sasuke unsheathed and sharpened a fresh sword.

"Maybe he should buy them in bulk," said Naruto as he slurped some ramen. With the battle on hold, he used the time to finally locate some instant ramen in the fortress food stores.

"Don't remind me," said Sasuke, "But what else can I do? Normal steel can't handle the amount of chakra a Chidori needs."

"I think I may have a solution to your predicament," Henry said, "I once heard of a special alloy called Escudo. When forged into a weapon, the metal becomes far stronger than steel."

"Keep talking," said Sasuke, clearly intrigued.

"I cannot tell you the number of legends centered around Escudo weapons," said Henry, "For Escudo works well with magic, or in your case, Sasuke, chakra. I'm sure an Escudo sword will be able to tolerate the chakra necessary for your Jutsus.

"And here's the best part; a weapon made from Escudo bonds with its intended wielder. No one will be able to hold it except its rightful owner. At the least, another person just won't be able to pick it up, and at the worst…well…let's just say it wouldn't be a pretty sight."

"Now I know I want one," said Sasuke eagerly.

"Uh, there might be a problem," said Henry, "You see, nobody has been able to make Escudo alloy in over 300 years, we just simply forgot."

"It wasn't simply forgotten," said Elaine, "It was banned."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"An Escudo weapon is nearly indestructible," said Elaine, "And only another Escudo weapon can destroy it. Many terrible wars were fought with Escudo weapons. They caused so much death and destruction that the practice of making Escudo alloy was marked forbidden. While the means for making Escudo weapons still exist, the actual art hasn't been practiced in over three centuries."

"Well what about an Escudo sword that's already been made?" Sakura asked in a hopeful tone.

"It wouldn't be the same," said Elaine, "The only way another person can touch and use someone else's Escudo weapon, is for the owner to willingly give it to another. As I said, the only way to destroy an Escudo weapon is with another. Most have been destroyed, and the few remaining are kept in museums or in their owners' tombs; the owners having died before they could pass their weapons on."

"Still," said Naruto after swallowing, "An Escudo sword would really be cool."

"You got that right," said Sasuke as thoughts of wielding a chakra-charged Escudo sword filled his imagination. An especially pleasing image of such a sword slicing Itachi in half was very prominent in Sasuke's mind.

But then all thoughts of mythical weapons left Sasuke's mind when he heard Jacob shout, "Here they come again!!!"

"If it's not one thing, it's another," grumbled Shikamaru, "And sometimes it's the same thing over and over again."

"Story of our lives," said Shino as they headed out to the walls to meet the new attack.

Throughout the rest of the day the enemy continued to attack, each time suffering massive casualties, yet managing to kill only a few defenders. Every few hours another truce would be called to clear the dead from the battlefield, then the fighting would resume.

The fighting slacked off a bit around sunset. Everyone at the fortress knew what would be coming that night. Despite all the fighting done today, none of the defenders had a chance to do anything about the enemy catapults. Or maybe _someone_ did.

"It's almost dusk," said Sakura as the sun headed for the western horizon.

"Gee, I had no idea," said Ino in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm worried about what the enemy will do tonight," said Sakura, "Elaine hasn't had the time she needed to prepare another shield spell. Unless…"

"Sorry, Sakura," said Elaine, "I haven't had any free time today to get a shield spell ready."

"Well that's just peachy," said Chouji in a disgruntled tone, "Now the enemy can pound us with their catapults."

"I wouldn't worry about that," said Shino in a casual tone, "I believe that the enemy won't be using any catapults any time soon."

"Why?" Henry asked, and then in a suspicious tone, "What did you do?"

"Very little on my part in fact," said Shino as he cleaned his sunglasses, his back to the setting sun, "Earlier today I had a meeting with representatives of several nearby termite colonies. They agreed to pay a visit to the enemy catapults, as well as the siege towers and battering rams that are being held in the rear. It won't be long before the enemy's war machines are rendered null and void."

"Shino, how would you like a medal?" Henry asked, "For 'ingenious strategy above and beyond the call of duty.'"

"I'm just carrying out my role in the mission," said Shino.

The fading light revealed confused movements in the enemy camps, as if they didn't know what to do now that their siege equipment was destroyed.

Just after sunset the defenders saw through spyglasses and night-vision spyglasses that Manos was forcing his soldiers to pull themselves together.

"They're reluctant to fight," said Neji as he watched the enemy camp with his Byakugan, "Only their fear of Manos is making them continue this battle."

"It won't be long before they start deserting," said Sasuke, "Another day or so of banging their heads against the wall, and they'll be running away in droves."

"They've still got plenty more to throw at us," said Henry as another enemy formation approached the fortress.

Throughout the night the enemy launched random skirmishes against the defenses. They would rush at the wall, the cannons, muskets and archers would drive them back, then the enemy would rush forward again a few minutes later. Nobody got much sleep that night

Unknown to anyone on the battlefield, a certain pair of Shinigami stood on the cliffs overlooking the pass. The two Shinigami had achieved a lot this day, each filling several pages of their Death Notes.

"Not a bad haul," said Talon as he read over the eleven pages he wrote in, "And this is only the second day."

"Tomorrow will be more worthwhile," said Malicious as he went over his fifteen pages. Both Shinigami had filled their pages with soldier's names, each marked with a simple cause of death: killed in battle. The exact time and means of death were left up to chance. But if one were to read the names written in the two Death Notes that day, one would find names belonging to enemy soldiers and not one Andalasian or Shinobi.

"Aren't we taking a risk here?" Talon asked, "We've killed a lot today, but only on one side. Wouldn't that look like we're favoring the Andalasians?"

"Not in the slightest," said Malicious, "It's true that Shinigami are forbidden to use the Death Note to save the life of a human by killing another, but we haven't prevented any Andalasians from dieing during this battle. And many more soldiers bearing the crest of Manos have died without any help from us."

"Then why haven't we written the names of the Andalasian soldiers?" Talon asked.

"Their time will come," said Malicious, "Plenty of them will die soon enough without our help."

Talon was about to ask What Malicious was implying, when a sudden gust of wind nearly blew Malicious' Death Note out of his hands and onto the battlefield below, where anyone can pick it up.

Fortunately for him, Malicious reestablished his grip on his Death Note. "That was close," he gasped, "Never again, never again."

"That's right," said Talon, "You did say that one time you dropped your Note by accident. But you never told me what happened."

"It's personnel," said Malicious, "But if you must know, it was an accident that made me drop my Death Note, one moment of negligence and it was gone, lost in one of the many world populated by humans. I spent three weeks traveling from one human realm to another to find my Note. And just when I located it, a human came along and picked it up.

"Fortunately, the human who found my Note was very understanding of my predicament. He promised to give it back to me, once he was done with it."

"And what did he use the Note for?" Talon asked.

"Revenge," said Malicious, "He used the Death Note to destroy those who viciously wronged him, and they deserved everything that happened to them, they were that despicable. And the human who picked up my Note, his writings were very elaborate, very imaginative. It was then that I felt that what Riku said was right; humans are interesting creatures."

"What happened to the human who found your Note?" Talon asked.

"He gave the Note back to me once his revenge was complete. I had already explained that, once he gave up ownership of the Death Note, he would also lose all memory associated with it as well. His only concern was that will he would forget his revenge.

"I assured him that, while his memories of the Note would be gone, his sense of satisfaction, his peace of mind, that would remain. With a sigh of content, he returned the Death Note to me, and I returned to the Shinigami world."

"You are a complicated Shinigami," said Talon, "You think too much."

"And you ask too many questions," said Malicious, "Have another apple."

"Groovy!" said Talon as Malicious handed him an apple.

By dawn several thousand more of the enemy lay dead. Once again a messenger from Manos approached the fortress and asked for a truce to clear the battlefield. Within another hour the battle resumed again with what was now the usual format; the enemy would try to scale the walls, the cannons would blast holes in their ranks, while several Shinobi and Andalasian defenders would launch a counterattack. The enemy would be driven back, regroup and attack again. When the battlefield became so thick with slain soldiers, the enemy would call a truce to clear the dead.

It was around midmorning that things began to look up for the defenders. Currently the enemy was attacking, while Naruto and several others were counter-attacking. While taking a turn supervising the gun crews on the second wall, Sasuke happened to look out at the enemy camp, and with his Sharingan, saw several soldiers heading west, away from the battlefield.

"There they go," said Sasuke as he pointed out the enemy deserters to Henry, "The first of many who will see the truth of Manos' tyranny and madness."

"I wonder how far they'll get?" Henry asked.

Not very far, for Manos sent several riders after the deserters and had them executed immediately. Yet a small handful got away.

"For every five they execute," said Neji, "They'll be another that manages to escape, and at least another five who are willing to try and run."

"If that's the case," said Henry, "Then the battle may be finished before the rest of the army gets here." Unfortunately the fighting was nowhere over, for a fresh wave of enemy soldier had arrived on the field and joined with their comrades in the mêlée.

Temari meanwhile was having a ball out on the battlefield. With her oversized fan she blasted the enemy soldiers to their deaths. Sometimes she'd channel some chakra into her fan strikes, "Wind Style: Sonic Tornado!" creating a whirlwind that would send several enemy troops into the stratosphere.

But then one particularly tall and ugly soldier came charging at Temari with an enormous axe. She folded up her fan and used it's metal sides to block the axe from cutting her in half.

"You're a pretty one," said the soldier, "I think I'll have some fun with you before sending you to hell."

"Gee," said Temari as she strained to hold the axe back, "I thought we were already having fun." She pushed harder, forcing the soldier back.

Temari unfolded her fan and blasted the soldier at point blank range. But he withstood the blast.

"How cute," said the soldier. He then swung his axe, knocking the fan out of Temari's hands. She jumped back to avoid a follow-up axe swing and drew a pair of kuni knives.

"Little girls shouldn't play with knives," said the soldier, "You need a lesson on how to treat real men, like me."

"Come and get me, you pervert!!" spat Temari as she threw the knives at the soldier. Both blades found their mark in the soldier's chest, but he was so large and so thick, the knives didn't do as much damage as Temari wanted.

Fortunately Temari had more than a few tricks up her sleeves. Just as the soldier raised his axe, Temari aimed and fired a bolt from a concealed crossbow at the soldier's neck. The bolt hit the soldier at the base of the neck, but missed the vital blood vessels.

"You're really starting to annoy me, little girl!" said the soldier as he pulled the bolt from his neck, "I'm gonna make you scream so loudly before you die."

"I think not," Temari said calmly as she turned around to retrieve her dropped fan.

"Don't you turn your back on me!!" exclaimed the soldier, "I want to see the look on your face as I violate you till your heart bleeds!"

"You're already dead," Temari said in a cold, as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

The soldier grunted in confusion, before falling flat on his face, stone dead.

Temari picked up her fan and looked around for another group of enemy troops to slay. She saw that the attack was winding down, the remaining enemy soldiers falling back to their camp.

She then saw Shikamaru looking at her. "What?" Temari asked.

"A poisoned crossbow bolt," said Shikamaru, "An effective backup weapon, but potentially dangerous. One scratch and you're also dead."

"It's worth the risk," said Temari as she loaded another bolt into her crossbow, then pushed her sleeve back down, "My brother Kankuro can attest to that."

"Well I think it suits you," said Shikamaru as they both headed back to the wall. The enemy had withdrawn for the moment to regroup, so our heroes had a few minutes to regroup themselves and breathe easy.

"Me too," said Temari, "It just goes to show you that beautiful things can be deadly," without warning she slapped Shikamaru across the face, not too hard, but hard enough to really give him a shock to the system, "And don't you forget it."

"You okay man?" Chouji asked Shikamaru as they both watched Temari head back onto the wall.

"Wonderful girl," said Shikamaru as he felt where Temari slapped him, "Either I'm gonna kill her, or I'm starting to like her."

Another truce was called sometime after midmorning. But time something was different. For the past several hours Garra stood at the second wall feeling more agitated than normal.

"I sense something," he said, "A disturbance in the essence of the earth. I don't know what it is, or where it is happening, but something _is_ happening, something wrong."

Many of the other Sand Shinobi also felt something wrong was going on in the ground, as well as some of the Andalasian defenders, those who were more attuned to nature that is. But nobody could tell what was going on.

"It's Manos," said Elaine as she began drawing various symbols on the wall with a piece of chalk, "He's cast a jamming spell so we can't detect whatever he's doing."

"Can you stop the jamming spell?" Sakura asked.

"I can try," said Elaine as she continued to draw with the chalk. Finally she finished, having completed a complex array of symbols that Sakura couldn't make heads or tails of.

Elaine then began chanting, at the same time the chalk symbols began glowing bright blue. They flashed three times, then shone brightly for several seconds before vanishing.

"It's done," Elaine said before she lost her balance.

"Elaine!" said Henry as he caught her before she fell off the wall.

"I'm alright, Henry," said Elaine in a voice that was barely above a whisper, "I'm just tired, that's all."

"It must have been a really powerful jamming spell that she had to break through," said Sasuke, "To have exhausted herself."

"No!!" exclaimed Garra, his eyes wide in shock, "How!? How could they have sneaked up on us like this!? I should have sensed it long before they got anywhere close!!"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

Just then a low rumbling came from the first wall, which began to shake violently, like an earthquake was going on in that area.

"The bastards!!" exclaimed Henry, "They sent in sappers! Everyone off the first wall!! Now!!"

His warning came too late, for large portions of the first wall began collapsing inward, as if the ground had opened up. Several Andalasian defenders were on the collapsed sections; many were killed with the stonework fell, while many more were trapped in the rubble.

Before the dust could settle, a loud commotion erupted from the other side of the pass as fresh enemy soldiers charged at the ruined wall.

The end of chapter 17.

Naruto: Oh crap! Oh crap!! Oh Crap!!!

Sakura: Stop saying that and do something!

Naruto: Well what should I be doing? The fortress is crawling with enemy soldiers! Seriously, we're doomed!!

Sasuke: For Kami's sake, Naruto! You're a Shinobi! Pull yourself together!!

Temari: Well at least I finally got some screen time.

Shikamaru: You really need to get your priorities straight.

Garra: Next chapter, 'To The Death.'

Kankuro: Reviewers will be privy to super-secret spoilers.


	22. Chapter 18: To The Death

**Chapter 18: To the Death**

"No!!" exclaimed Garra, his eyes wide in shock, "How!? How could they have sneaked up on us like this!? I should have sensed it long before they got anywhere close!!"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

Just then a low rumbling came from the first wall, which began to shake violently, like an earthquake was going on in that area.

"The bastards!!" exclaimed Henry, "They sent in sappers! Everyone off the first wall!! Now!!"

His warning came too late, for large portions of the first wall began collapsing inward, as if the ground had opened up. Several Andalasian defenders were on the collapsed sections; many were killed with the stonework fell, while many more were trapped in the rubble.

Before the dust could settle, a loud commotion erupted from the other side of the pass as fresh enemy soldiers charged at the ruined wall.

Those defenders who survived the collapse of the wall were completely unprepared for the enemy onslaught. Only a handful managed to extract themselves from the ruined wall before the oncoming hoards began slaughtering those still trying to dig themselves out. The survivors somehow made it safely across the open area to the second wall without triggering any of the hidden booby traps. Rope ladders were thrown down to the survivors, who made it up to the second wall.

The enemy had swarmed over what was left of the first wall and charged towards the second, uncaring that they were triggering the booby traps. Dozens were killed by landmines, spiked pits and other lethal traps, while dozens more fell from the Andalasian archers and cannons. But the enemy kept coming.

"Can someone please explain to be what the hell just happened?!" Naruto asked over the din of battle, "How did the wall fall apart like that!?"

"The enemy used sappers to dig a tunnel under the first wall," said Sasuke as he threw a double handful of shuriken at the enemy soldiers, "Or several tunnels. They then collapsed the tunnel supports, weakening the foundations of the wall to the point where it in trun collapsed. Does that answer your question, Naruto?"

"Pretty much," said Naruto as he kicked one enemy soldier out of his way, then threw a kuni at another.

"Hold fast!" said Henry, "Hold the lines! This fortress has stood for centuries! It'll take more than sheer numbers to break through!"

"They've got more than numbers," said Ino as she looked out with a spyglass. Several enemy mages had gathered atop the ruined wall and were aiming their staffs at the second wall.

"Elaine," Sasuke said.

"Still exhausted," said Henry.

"Crap!" swore Sakura.

The mages then shot a barrage of fireballs, lighting bolts and ice spells at the second wall. It wasn't long before the stonework began to crumble from the magical assault.

"Fall back!!" Henry shouted when he realized that the line wouldn't hold much longer, "Back to the third wall!!"

Within minutes the second wall was reduced to rubble. Most of the defenders there managed to get back to the third wall, but half a dozen Andalasians and two Sand Shinobi were caught in the collapsing wall. Those who weren't killed by the fall were slaughtered by the enemy.

"I hate to be stating the obvious," said Sasuke, "But this is really bad."

"Tell me about it," said Henry as he hastily scribbled a note, then handed it to a soldier, "Get that back to Andraios at once! My father and the army commanders must be informed!"

The soldier saluted, then hurried to the fortress stables where he mounted the fastest horse there and galloped into Andalasia.

"What was that you wrote?" Sakura asked.

"Just a message telling my father and Commander Howard to hurry up and send reinforcements," said Henry, "They may get here too late, but at least I tried to get help to come."

"Well in case reinforcements don't come in time," said Neji, "We should have a contingency plan, should the worst happen."

Sasuke and Sakura were reluctant to agree, but Neji had a point, they should have a last resort plan should the fortress fall.

"Okay, Neji," said Henry, "What do you have in mind?"

"We still have several crates of dynamite," said Neji, "I believe we should take them down to the gunpowder stores and set it all with one master fuse. Heaven forbid that the enemy overwhelms the fortress, the last defender alive can light the fuse. Such an explosion from all that gunpowder and dynamite will most surely destroy hundreds if not thousands of the enemy, as well as cause an avalanche, blocking the pass and buying time for the main army to arrive and prepare for battle."

"That's quite possibly the most depressing plan I've ever heard," said Henry, "But a good plan none the less."

"Well it's the best I could think of," said Neji, "Under the circumstances that is." The fortress keep then shook as a fireball impacted outside.

"It's still a good plan," said Henry. He then instructed some soldiers to rig the gunpowder stores and the dynamite to explode.

"I'm gonna see if they need help in the infirmary," said Sakura.

"We'll be outside," said Sasuke.

"Sakura," said Henry, "When you see Clare, tell her that I want her and the other healers to prepare to evacuate with the wounded, those that can be safely moved, and any one else that can be. If the worst should happen, I want to save as many as we can."

"You got it," said Sakura as she hurried towards the infirmary. The fortress shook from another fireball impact as Sasuke and Henry rushed out to the remaining wall.

Sakura meanwhile had reached the infirmary. Seeing that they were loaded with casualties, she immediately began helping out with healing the wounded. She found Clare, still disguised, helping a soldier with severe burns down his back.

"What's happening?" Clare asked as Sakura began healing the soldier.

"Well apart from the loss of the first two walls," said Sakura as she finished healing the soldier, then moved onto the next casualty, a double arrow wound, "And that help still won't be here until tomorrow, I'd say we're doing pretty well."

The fortress then shook again from another fireball impact. Sakura, Clare and the other healers used their bodies to shield the wounded so that dust and small pieces of stonework from the ceiling wouldn't get into the wounds.

"I'd be a lot happier if they wouldn't do that," said Clare as she and Sakura healed a patient who had both legs broken.

"It's only gonna get worse," said Sakura. She then whispered so that none of the other healers or wounded could hear what she was saying, "Listen, Clare, Henry told me to tell you…"

"I'm not leaving," said Clare.

"How did you know I was going to tell you that Henry wants you and the healers to prepare to evacuate with the wounded?" Sakura asked.

"That's just the sort of thing Henry would order in such a crisis as this," said Clare as she and Sakura moved on to the next patient, "Henry has the best interests of his people in heart, but so do I; I will not abandon my post when I can still help out, end of discussion."

Sakura had every intention of arguing to the contrary, but she could see it in Clare's eyes that she wasn't going to leave, and that nothing Sakura, Henry, or anyone could say would make Clare change her mind.

Just then Jacob and one of the Sand Ninjas came in carrying a wounded soldier on a stretcher. Gently placing the patient on a nearby table, Jacob paused on his way out, giving Clare a look that basically said 'everything's going to be alright.' He then hurried out of the room and back to the wall.

"Sakura," said Clare, "You tell Henry that the healers and wounded will be ready to evacuate at a moments notice, but as long as Jacob stays, so will I."

Sakura was about to retort, even though she knew her words would be futile, when the fortress shook from a tremor of sorts, but this one was different.

"That wasn't a fireball impact," said Sakura, "Something else hit us."

"Go," insisted Clare ass he moved on to the next patient, "I'll be fine." Sensing that Clare was serious about staying, Sakura ran back outside.

She exited the fortress, only to see the defenders running from the last wall, and with good reason. A huge monster made of living stone was tearing down the third and final wall.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Sakura asked as the rock monster tore another chunk from the wall.

"A golem," said Shino, "I've heard legends of such creatures, but I never thought I would actually see one."

"Well you better believe it," said Naruto, "That thing is making mincemeat out of the wall!"

"We're gonna be mincemeat if it gets to the fortress," said Shikamaru.

"The hell it will!" said Chouji. He rushed out to the wreck of the third wall, "Full Body Expansion Jutsu!!"

His entire body increased in size, Chouji was now nearly as tall as the golem. He grabbed the stone creature and tried to wrestle it to the ground. But the golem was too strong to be forced down. It fought back and tried to tear one of Chouji's arms off. But Chouji has always been faster than he looks. Ducking out of the creature's reach, he got behind the golem and grabbed it in full nelson lock.

But then the golem allowed itself to fall to the ground, landing on top of Chouji. He wasn't seriously hurt, but having several tones of rock falling on him left Chouji a little sluggish. The Golem reared up to deliver a devastating haymaker blow, but it froze in place.

Over at the fortress keep, both Shikamaru and Garra struggled to maintain their double-hold on the golem; Shikamaru had extended his shadow with the shadow of the fortress to lock onto the creature, while Garra had simply grabbed hold of it with his mind; after all, sand is really just really, really small pieces of rock.

Taking advantage of the situation, Chouji mustered up his full strength and lifted the golem above his head. The then threw the creature towards the enemy masses, crushing several dozen of Manos' minions, while shattering the golem into countless pieces. The shards of golem killed dozens more while wounding at least a hundred. But this was only a drop in the ocean compare to the numbers Manos still had at his command.

Chouji then shrunk back to his normal size and got back to the fortress keep. "That was wild," he said as he opened up a bag of chips, "But I'll stick with normal sized opponents for a while."

"You'll get plenty of human sized enemies," said Kiba, "That and more."

While the threat of the golem had been neutralized, the damage had been done. The enemy soldiers swarmed over the ruined third wall.

"They still have to get into the keep itself," said Henry, "And the only way to get in now is through the front door, and they'll have a rather hard time doing that without any battering rams."

True, before the battle started the western door of the keep had been barred and welded shut. The enemy soldiers pushed and hacked at the door with their weapons, but the door refused to give an inch.

Meanwhile the cannons in the upper levels of the keep had been firing nonstop into the enemy hoards. Without a chance to cool down, two cannons had already cracked along the barrels from overheating, while a third exploded, killing one Andalasian and wounding three more.

Despite the constant cannon barrage, along with nearly every defender who can handle a bow firing arrow after arrow, as well as a handful of muskets shooting into the enemy ranks, they were barely scratching the enemy onslaught. The sheer numbers Manos had committed threatened to overwhelm the defenders should they get into keep itself.

But as they say, 'best laid plans of mice and men.' Several large enemy fireballs impacted at the west gate of the keep, shattering it. The enemy soldiers poured through the opening, however, once again their numbers worked against them.

Having forced too many into a confined space, the enemy attack stalled before they got ten yards inside the keep, they were so packed into the corridors they couldn't move.

Garra and his Sand Shinobi took their time in destroying the enemy soldiers that were trapped in the corridors. The rest of the enemy masses, seeing that it would be futile to rush headlong into the keep, fell back to reorganize.

Henry then ordered that the gate be repaired, but before that could be done, several large and ugly enemy soldiers came rushing through the opening, each one wearing spiked armor and carrying short-handled axes in their hands. Their' faces were twisted with blood lust.

"Hold your ground!!" Henry ordered as the enemy berserkers attacked the Andalasians, "Hold them back!!" Yet the berserkers were too fast and too strong for the Andalasian defenders. Dozens fell within minutes. Henry and the others were forced to fall back to the next level of the fortress.

Kiba and Akamaru managed to take down one berserker, while Shino destroyed another with his destruction bugs, but the madmen kept pressing their attack. Behind the berserkers more regular enemy soldiers entered the fortress.

"We can't hold them!!" shouted one of the Andalasians, before his head was chopped off.

"The hell we can't!!" exclaimed Naruto. Making sure Henry, Sasuke and the others were behind him, and the berserkers in front, Naruto made his hand signs, "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!!" the corridors were filled with dozens of Naruto clones. The sudden influx of Naruto's forced the berserker advance to slow down and eventually move back as the clones destroyed one berserker after another.

"Keep it up, Naruto!!" shouted Sakura, "Show them who's the boss!!"

Unfortunately the remaining berserkers had just destroyed the last of the summoned clones, leaving the real Naruto still standing, but beginning to run low on stamina.

"Naruto!!" shouted Sasuke, "Duck!!"

Naruto dropped to the floor just as Sasuke finished his hand signs, "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!!" The dragon-shaped blast of fire incinerated the remaining berserks, as well as several dozen enemy soldiers.

The Andalasian defenders rallied and pushed the enemy back several yards.

"Don't stop!!" exclaimed Henry, "As long as they can only attack us from one side, we still have the advantage! We can still beat them!!"

Just then Henry received some really, really bad news, "What do you mean they're on the other side of the fortress!?!"

The worst had happened. Apparently the enemy had dug a second tunnel under the fortress, emerging on the eastern side of the pass. Several advanced enemy squads had left the pass and entered Andalasia, while more soldiers had broken down the east gate and had penetrated the fortress.

"Fall back!!" Henry ordered, "Fall back to the center!"

Attacked from both sides, the remaining defenders retreated to the innermost areas of the fortress, mainly the command center, the infirmary and the weapons stores.

Naruto and the others quickly took stock of the situation; of the 500 Andalasian solders, about 130 were dead, and of the 100 currently wounded, only 35 were too seriously hurt to keep fighting. Of the 48 Sand Shinobi who accompanied Garra, Temari and Kankuro, 17 were dead and 11 wounded.

"I'll admit it," said Tenten, "This is bad."

"We ain't licked yet," said Kiba, "Even from both sides, the corridors are narrow enough so that the enemy can only send in a few at a time."

"Even so," said Neji, "We've lost control of the situation. The enemy has access to the other side of the pass."

"Manos can't move his entire army though one tunnel," said Naruto, "We have to keep fighting!"

It was then that something strange happened. The sounds of raging enemy soldiers, thirsty for Andalasian blood, fell silent.

"What's going on?" Clare asked, for even in the infirmary the sounds of battle could be heard, until now that is.

"They enemy," said one of the Andalasian defenders to Henry, "They've all stopped moving."

"This is weird," said Sasuke, "What could have made them all stop at once?"

"Their masters' will," said Elaine, "But even I fear to wonder what Manos will do next."

Just then the disembodied voice of Manos filled the fortress:

**"Shinobi and Andalasians; I applaud your futile efforts; brave efforts, but futile none the less. Your defenses have crumbled and your fortress has been penetrated. As we speak, my forces are delving into your kingdom. Only you pitiful few remain in my way of total domination of Andalasia.**

**"I offer this respite. Surrender, and proclaim me your true god, and I shall grand you all swift and merciful deaths. If you insist on hampering me further, I promise that your suffering will be legendary, even in hell. Persist, and I promise you, you shall all be begging for your deaths. You have fifteen minutes to decide."**

"Well," said Naruto after a few tense seconds of silence, "We've been in some pretty sticky situations, but this takes the cake, believe it."

"At least we tried," said Sasuke, "Whoever is alive in the future won't be able to argue with that."

"At least we will die with honor," said Garra.

"I can't believe this!" exclaimed Henry, "You're giving up? After all we've been through, you two are going to just lay down and die!?"

"Hell no," said Naruto, "We're gonna keep fighting."

"Damn right!" said Sakura.

"Affirmative," said Neji, while Kiba, Hinata and the others nodded in agreement.

"To the bitter end," said Sasuke, "We're all ready to fight until we can't fight any more. Hopefully we'll take as many of the enemy with us so that the main army will have a better chance."

Just then one of the defenders informed Henry that the gunpowder stores were ready to explode. "Good," said Henry, "They fixed it with a very short fuse. Once lit, the whole thing will go up after ten seconds."

"Why so short?" Naruto asked.

"So that the enemy won't have a chance to put the fuse out, you knucklehead!" said Sakura in an exasperated tone, "Honestly."

"With a fuse that short," said Shino, "Whoever lights it won't have enough time to get away."

"I think that the idea is that said person would be the last defender standing," said Neji, "And in order to make sure that there is someone left standing, someone has to go to the powder stores and wait. If he or she doesn't hear from anyone friendly every five minutes or so, then he or she should assume the worst and light the fuse."

"That's a good idea," said Henry, "But who gets to do it? I guess as the leader of the defenses, it should be me who makes the supreme sacrifice."

"I'll do it!" said one of the Andalasian defenders, "I'll be the one who lights the fuse!"

"Choose me!" said another soldier, "My prince, don't sacrifice yourself that way! Let me be the one!"

"No! I'll do it!"

"I'll do it!!"

"I'll do it!!!"

"Stop this!!" said Henry, "I won't have anyone else become a martyr."

"Well somebody better decide who gets to do it," said Shikamaru, "We're almost out of time."

"I'll pick," said Shino, "Everyone who wishes to die in a glorious explosion, stand at the other side of the room."

Along with Henry, about a dozen Andalasian defenders moved to the far wall of the room.

"Now," said Shino, "I'm thinking of a number between one and twenty. Whoever guesses it will be the one."

The number Shino was thinking of was 19, and two guessed it; Henry and Jacob Douglas.

"No way am I letting you do it, Jacob," said Henry, "Clare needs you."

"And Elaine needs you, Prince Henry," said Jacob.

"Maybe you both could do it," said Naruto.

"Or we can do it as Guy-Sensei would," said Lee. He then had Jacob and Henry play 'Rock Paper Scissors', which Jacob won.

"Scissors cuts paper," said Jacob.

"That it does," said Henry in a slightly distant tone as he realized that the common soldier who had become his friend was about to die, "Anything you wish me to tell Clare?"

"Only that I love her," said Jacob, "And that I'll be thinking of her until the very end."

Yet before Jacob could go down to the powder stores, one of the Andalasian defenders cam running in and delivered news to Henry, good news for once. Something incredible was happening outside.

The end of chapter 18.

Naruto: Well it's about time something good happened.

Sakura: But what?

Sasuke: I guess we'll just have to wait.

Naruto: Figures.

Ino: Next chapter, 'Endgame! Darkest Before Dawn!'

Naruto: But the sun is still up.

Sakura: It's a figure of speech, you moron!

Tenten: Be sure to leave lots of great reviews!


	23. Chapter 19: Endgame! Darkest Before Dawn

**Chapter 19: Endgame! Darkest Before Dawn**

There was confusion among the enemy soldiers that had gotten inside the fortress. Not one to pass up an opportunity, Naruto, Henry and the remaining defenders took the initiative and struck back, killing several enemy soldiers, while forcing the rest out of the fortress. When they got outside, Naruto and the others were in for a surprise.

Streaming in from the East were thousands of Andalasian soldiers. They filled the eastern side of the pass, killing enemy soldiers who were emerging from the tunnel, while more Andalasians rushed to the fortress to help their brethren.

While over on the western side of the pass, it was total chaos among the enemy ranks. Nearly 300 Shinobi lined the sheer walls of the pass, each ninja using his or chakra to stick to the rock walls. Naruto and the others watched as the newly arrived Shinobi peppered the enemy ranks with kuni and shuriken.

Sasuke and Neji immediately recognized dozens from The Hidden Lead Village, led by Tsunade herself, while Garra, Temari and Kankuro saw several more from Sunagakure as well. Sakura saw that other villages were represented as well; Hidden Waterfall, Hidden Whirlpool, Hidden Mountain, and half a dozen other allied ninja villages.

It wasn't long before the Andalasian reinforcements had completely

retaken the entire fortress, while pursuing down the tunnel to chase out more enemy soldiers.

"I don't understand," said an amazed and confused Henry, "How can this be? I thought that help wasn't due to arrive until tomorrow."

It was then that Commander Howard made his presence known to Henry, "My Prince, when your father, the king, wishes for the army to be ready a day ahead of schedule, it happens."

"It's good to be the king," remarked Chouji.

"Well we're glad you're all here," said Henry, "And not a moment too soon."

"Yeah," said Ino, "We were ready to blow up the whole fortress and seal the pass," she looked at Jacob, "Glad we decided to wait a bit."

"We didn't decide that," said Jacob, "I was just about to get ready for the big finish."

"Well I'm glad you didn't," whispered Clare as she passed by to help retrieve more healing supplies.

The Andalasian reinforcements were now attacking the enemy masses on one side, while the newly arrived Shinobi kept up their assault from the walls of the pass. Several of the ninjas had jumped into the fray and engaged in close combat with the enemy.

Disoriented from this counterattack, the enemy soldiers soon began to break ranks and fled back to their camp. Within fifteen minutes the pass was free of enemies. Fresh Andalasian troops continued out of the pass and attacked the enemy camp.

It was then that Tsunade arrived at the fortress, "Well, looks like we got here just in time."

"We were doing alright," said Naruto in a self-centered tone, "We had the enemy just were we wanted them."

"From what I saw," said Tsunade, "it seemed that the opposite was what was going on."

"I think what Naruto is trying to say, Lady Tsunade," said Sakura, not giving Naruto a chance to speak, "Is that we're all grateful for the help."

"But how did you get here so quickly?" Sasuke asked, "And managed to get so many villages to cooperate?"

"I know how," said Garra, "The same thing that got both The Hidden Leave and The Hidden Sand Village involved in the first place; Manos sent assassins to start a ninja war."

"Exactly," said Tsunade, "All the Hidden Villages represented here had infiltrators, waiting for the order to assassinate the village leaders and blame it on another village. Fortunately none of the assassination attempts succeeded, and it wasn't long before we all realized who the real enemy was."

It was then that one of the Andalasians delivered a message to Henry. "It's not over yet," he said after hearing the message, "The enemy may be running, but their master is still here."

By now the combined reinforcements had forced the enemy hoard to abandon camp and run for it, the furious charge of Andalasians and Shinobi had caused the majority of Manos' minions to lose heart and retreat. Many of Manos' die-hard followers killed several of the runners, but the fanatics were soon overwhelmed and killed in turn.

When Henry, Naruto and the others made their way out of the pass into the remains of the enemy camp, one person was still there, surrounded by hundreds of Andalasians and Shinobi. Yet nobody wanted to get within a hundred yards of the man, assuming you can still call Manos a human being. Already half a dozen Shinobi tried to take the mad wizard down, but they were killed by dark magic before they could get within striking range, while several long-range Jutsus backfired on their casters.

"What now?" Naruto asked.

"What else?" said Henry, "After all, turnabout is fair play." One of the Andalasian soldiers handed Henry a megaphone, "Manos!! This is your one chance! Surrender, and I give you my word as Crown Prince of Andalasia, your life will be sparred! If you insist on continuing this pointless battle, I swear we will show no mercy!"

"Mercy!?!" Manos shouted, his voice magically amplified so that everyone there could hear him, "I offered you fools mercy, and you squandered that mercy! Now you shall all suffer my wrath!!"

"Who's the fool now, Manos!?" Henry asked, "Your minions are either dead or have abandoned you. Admit it, you've lost!"

"I have barely begun to fight!!" exclaimed Manos. He raised his arms, chanted, and the air was suddenly full of fireballs, ice shards and bolts of lighting. Dozens of Andalasians were killed instantly, while more were killed while trying to get away from the mad wizard.

"This guy just doesn't know when to quit," said Sakura as she and the others dodged a cluster of lighting bolts.

"Well we ain't licked yet," said Naruto, "Let's finish this!"

"I hate to be a downer, Naruto," said Sasuke after jumping out of the way of a fireball, "But I'm kind of running low on chakra."

"Me too," said Chouji, "I haven't eaten anything in almost an hour."

"Hardly any of us has had a real chance to regain stamina," said Neji, "So fighting a rampaging wizard really isn't the best of ideas right now."

Just then Shizune arrived on the scene, "Lady Tsunade sends her regards. She's somewhat occupied in healing the wounded, so she sent me to give you these." She handed to Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and the other Fighting Dreamers, including one for Akamaru, a vial of some sort of red liquid.

"This will not only heal your injuries," said Shizune, "But also recharge your stamina levels."

"Just what the Hokage ordered," said Sakura as she uncorked her vial, "Down the hatch!" she drank hers. Naruto and the others quickly followed suit. Within seconds they were fully healed and energized.

"Alright!!" exclaimed Naruto, "Let's go kick some Manos ass! Believe it!"

This was easier said than done, for even though they were ready for battle, none of them could get close enough to Manos, who was still casting fireballs, lighting and ice shards.

Sasuke tried to blast Manos with a Fireball Jutsu, but his attacks were canceled out by ice shards, while Shikamaru's Shadow Capture Jutsu was shattered by a lighting bolt. Shino sent in a wave of his destruction bugs, but they were fried by a wall of dark flames.

Shikamaru tried another Shadow Capture Jutsu, but this time it backfired on him, just like with Silas Dubois a few days earlier.

"Not again!!" moaned Shikamaru as his own shadow constricted around him, forcing him to the ground, "This is such a drag!" Things were made even worse for Shikamaru, for at that time, an ice shard hit him in his right eye.

"I knew I should have stayed in bed today," said Shikamaru through gritted teeth as he fought against the nearly indescribable pain of the destruction of his eye.

Meanwhile, Tenten had tripped over a rock while dodging a fireball. She then saw some sort of green light streaking towards her from Manos. She tried to jump out of the way, but her left arm was caught in the green light. At first nothing happened. But as Tenten took cover behind a boulder, she looked in horror as her arm below the elbow began to die.

Neji then appeared beside her. "What's happening to me?!" Tenten exclaimed as the affected flesh first lost all sensation, then began to wither away, leaving a dried up stalk of rotten skin and bone.

"I don't know," said a shocked Neji, even his calm personality was shaken by the sight of Tenten's arm rotting away.

Just then Elaine appeared, "I'm afraid Tenten was exposed to an upper-level killing curse. Had she taken the full force of the curse, she would have died."

"So it's only my arm that's dead," said Tenten, "Well, there goes my career as a Kunoichi."

"I wouldn't be so eager to retire," said Elaine, "But anyway, Neji, get her to Miss Clare, she'll prevent the curse from spreading any further."

"What about you?" Neji asked as he helped Tenten up, "Are you sure you're okay to fight?"

"I'm feeling much better," said Elaine firmly, "So now I'm going to end this." She then walked out in front of the boulder and cast several spells that countered Manos' magic.

"So you're the one who fancies herself the future queen of Andalasia," said Manos as the two magic users glared at each other, "Such a shame that I have to destroy you completely, your soul would have made a beautiful addition to my collection. Alas, your kind is no longer necessary in the world. There is no longer any need for kings and queens, for I am the future."

"You're future is dead, Manos!" said Elaine. She pointed both hands and the mad wizard and shot a stream of bright white magic at him. Manos counted with one hand, shooting a larger stream of dark purple energy. At first the two magic blasts were equal, but little by little, Manos' attack was overpowering Elaine's.

"Admit it, little girl!" boasted Manos, "You're no match for me, I am far too powerful for a scrawny, second rate witch such as you!!"

"You may have me outmatched in raw power!" Elaine shouted as she strained to hold back Manos' magic, "But I'm way smarter than you, Manos!!"

"Oh?!" Manos asked, "How so?"

"Fang-Overfang!!!"

Manos was so focused on Elaine, he failed to see Kiba and Akamaru spinning towards him until the last second. The mad mage threw up a shield just before impact, but that was just the distraction Elaine needed to unleash her full magical power on Manos. Her white energy blast pushed through Manos' and hit him square in the chest, sending the mad mage crashing into the pass wall.

"That's why I'm smarter than you," said Elaine as she collapsed to her knees, exhausted again.

"You did it, Elaine!!" exclaimed Henry as he rushed over to her, "You did it!"

"No," said Elaine as Henry helped her up, "It's not over, not yet."

Manos was indeed still alive. While the force of Elaine's blast created a Manos' shaped crater in the rock wall, the mad mage was nearly unscratched.

"So," said Manos, "It seems that a more forceful method is needed in order for me to triumph today," his body began to glow dark purple, "So be it. You fools believe you can defeat the true master of the world, well, YOU'RE WRONG!!!"

Manos' body began a metamorphosis, growing larger and adapting into animal attributes. At the same time, hundreds of small lights came zooming form the middle of the abandoned enemy camp. These lights were then rapidly absorbed into Manos' transmuting body.

"What were those things?" Ino asked.

"The captured souls of hundreds of innocent women," said Elaine, "He just snuffed out the lights of all his victims."

"It's worse than you think," said Chouji. By now Manos had morphed into a chimera of sorts: a dragon-like body with six clawed legs, a large humanoid upper body, but with four elongated limbs ending in scorpion claws, three tails ending with snake heads, their fangs dripping with acidic venom, and the head, atop a prehensile neck like a python, the head still had Manos' face, but now had four eyes that glowed dark purple.

"Never a dull moment," Sasuke sighed.

"**How do you like me now!?!" **Manos bellowed.

"I don't like you at all!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Neither do I!!" shouted Sakura as she picked up a large boulder and threw at Manos. At the same time, Chouji went 'Full Body Expansion Jutsu!' again, while Kiba and Akamaru got into position for a 'Double Wolf Fang,' and Naruto summoned fifty Shadow Clones.

Manos destroyed the incoming boulder with two beams of dark purple magic from his eyes. He swatted Kiba and Akamaru aside with one of the snake-head tails, tossed Chouji back with one set of scorpion claws, and trampled the Naruto clones.

The transformed mage then noticed that Neji and Hinata were attacking his body, yet the two Huygas discovered to their shock and amazement that Gentile Fist Style had no effect on Manos. They barely avoided being shredded, stomped and blasted.

"This guy is something else," said Kiba as he and Akamaru picked themselves up and prepared to get back in the fray.

"Our regular Jutsus won't work on him," said Neji, "We need to come up with a more effective strategy."

"I may have an idea," said Shino, "It's not much, but it may give us an edge."

"If you're thinking of what I'm thinking," said Neji, "Then we both have been spending too much time around Naruto."

"Indeed," said Shino. He then spoke to Kiba, "Neji and I need a few minutes to get ready."

"We'll keep the party going while you're gone," said Kiba, "Just hurry."

"Will do," said Neji. He and Shino then rushed back to the fortress.

Meanwhile, Temari was swinging her chakra-enhanced fan with all her might at Manos, while Kankuro directed 'Crow' to shoot poisoned darts at the transmuted mage. Yet Manos wasn't effected by the efforts of the Sand Siblings. Temari's attack felt like a gentle summer's breeze to the mad wizard, while the poison had no impact on his transfigured body.

All the while, Garra was out of sight, clandestinely turning the ground beneath Manos into sand. When there was enough, Garra struck, "Earth Style: Desert Coffin!!"

Before Manos could react, he was encased in sand that was swiftly constricting around his body. Within seconds the mad mage couldn't move. But before anyone could do anything else, Manos broke free of the sand trap. One blast of raw dark magic shattered Garra's Jutsu.

Just then Naruto and another clone came running up behind Manos, for Garra's trap was just to get Manos to hold still for a bit. Between the two Naruto's was a bright blue ball of swirling chakra.

As they got within striking range, the chakra ball finished forming and the clone disappeared. "Rasengan!!" shouted the real Naruto as he jumped up, intending to hit Manos in the back.

Instead, Naruto was smacked by one of the snake-head tails. He landed on the ground hard, the Rasengan dissipating as Naruto lost focus.

"**You are quite the nuance, Naruto Uzumaki,"** said Manos as he glared at Naruto, **"But a strong one, I admit it. I can see why the Akatsuki are so eager to have you, or at least, the demon locked inside your body."**

"The Akatsuki!?" Naruto asked in a slightly confused tone, "What do they have to do with this?!"

"**They came to see me a while back,**" said Manos, **"They asked me to keep you alive long enough so they could come and collect you. I told them that you were far too dangerous to live, that I would see you destroyed by my own hand. So now I shall keep my word, for the word of the true master of the world, is his bond!"**

"I think not!!" shouted Garra, "Sand Shuriken!!"

Four throwing stars made of sand shot towards Manos' face. They broke up just before impact, giving Manos a quadruple blast of sand in his eyes. He roared in frustration as his scorpion claws fruitlessly tried to get the sand out.

"It would appear," said Garra as he helped Naruto up, "That we are no longer even; you owe me, now." But then Naruto pulled Garra out of the way as Manos thrashed about in his blinded state.

"Now we're even again," said Naruto.

"**Insolent vermin!!" **bellowed Manos as his vision began to clear, **"I'll devour you all!!"**

"Devour this!" shouted Lee as he threw his leg weights at Manos. Both weight, each over 500lbs, smacked Manos' body, leaving two rather nasty looking bruises in the dragon-scale hide.

Lee then opened the first five Inner Gates, causing a massive influx of power in his body, while at the same time turning his skin red. Empowered by the open gates, Lee unleashed a salvo of Taijutsu strikes on Manos. The mad mage was too large for Lee to attempt a 'Lotus' attack, but there was more than enough space to kick and punch.

By now Manos was bleeding from a dozen serious wounds and dozens more minor cuts and bruises. Two of the scorpion claws were smashed, as were two of the dragon legs. All three snake-head tails were broken at various places, leaving them limp and dragging.

Unfortunately at that time, Lee's old wounds acted up again. He lost his concentration, which caused the open Gates to force shut, leaving Lee exhausted. Manos saw that Lee was weakened and charged at him. Several Andalasians tried to help Lee out of the way, but Manos swatted them aside like they were toys.

"**DIE!!!" **roared Manos as his long neck reached down so he could bite into Lee. But then something small hit him on the flank, then exploded. Ino helped Lee get out of the way as another blast hit Manos on the same side, but more to the rear.

Disoriented, Manos looked around to see where the explosions were coming from. Finally, he saw Neji and Shino standing with the last of the dynamite.

"This is so stupid, it's positively brilliant!" said Neji as he lit and threw another stick of dynamite at Manos.

"Like you said," said Shino as he lit and threw two sticks of dynamite, "We've been spending too much time around Naruto."

With Manos occupied, many Andalasian healers went out onto the battlefield to help the wounded. As Clare finished stabilizing one casualty, she saw Jacob laying in the dust with a broken leg.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she used her healing magic to see just how bad the break was.

"Nothing hurt but my pride," Jacob said as he bravely fought against the pain, for he had a compound fracture of the shin, the bone sticking out through his skin.

"Just hold still, darling," said Clare as she cast a spell that would ease the pain, "I'll have you fixed soon." With Jacob out of pain, she gently eased the bone back into place and began mending the break.

At that time Neji and Shino threw the very last sticks of dynamite. They then saw that while they had kept Manos off balance, the dynamite explosions had done very little damage to his body.

It was then the Genjutsu on Clare wore off. Just like that, (insert finger snapping sound) she reverted back to her normal appearance.

To make matters worse, Manos was looking right at Clare when the Genjutsu dissipated.

"**Clare Rachuba!!" **Manos gleefully shouted, **"At last! Your soul is mine!!"**

Heedless of his two destroyed legs, Manos charged at Clare and the helpless Jacob. Refusing to abandon the man she loved, Clare and Jacob held onto each other and prepared for the worst.

At the last second, just when Manos was about to devour Clare, Hinata jumped in and plunged a pair kuni knives into Manos' eyes, destroying two of the dark purple orbs. She grabbed Clare and Jacob and jumped out of the way as the half-blinded Manos howled and thrashed about in agony.

Seeing this as their best chance, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura unleashed their most powerful attacks. Sakura ran up to and delivered a devastating right hook to Manos' head. The beast reared back from the force of the punch, allowing Sasuke and Naruto access to Manos' soft underbelly.

Both of them had been charging up their best Jutsus. Sasuke, a new sword sparking with chakra, charged at Manos, "Lighting Blade!" and stabbed the transmuted mage in the chest, for Sasuke wasn't exactly sure where the creatures' heart was. But the effect was just as good, for the blade shattered, leaving several pieces of chakra charged steel inside of Manos.

At the same time, Naruto, who with another Shadow Clone, had been charging up his perfected Rasengan, something he was saving. "Oodama Rasengan!!" shouted both Naruto's as they forced the huge ball of swirling charka onto Manos. The large Rasengan stuck to the creatures' body for a second before exploding, giving Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto the time needed to get out of the way.

The blast of all that chakra, combined with the chakra-charged sword pieces, and the stone-shattering punch, ripped through Manos like a freight train, shattering his powers, and allowing the hundreds of captured souls to escape from his body. One by one the small but bright lights were released from Manos rapidly diminishing body, and one by one the freed souls ascended to heaven.

"Am I…the only one…who has no…idea what…just happened?" gasped Naruto.

"You're not…alone," said Sasuke, "But any…way, it's…over."

"Don't celebrate…yet, boys," said Sakura, "It's not…over."

True enough, the near skeletal remains of Manos was still alive; he was little more than skin and bones, but the mad mage was alive. Even tough his body was nearly destroyed, Manos still had the strength to crawl towards where Hinata had deposited Clare and Jacob.

"I'm not finished yet!" shouted Manos, "Clare's soul is mine! It's mine!! Mine!!"

"Oh for the love of all things good in the world!" exclaimed Ino, "Somebody kill him already!!"

"I'm on it," said Henry. He walked over to Manos, who had stopped crawling and rolled over onto his back.

"Come to finish me off, have you?" Manos asked, "Well go on, do it! Save your pathetic kingdom! But know that by destroying me, you will have won nothing! It won't be long before someone else with visions of ruling all rises up. That someone may be stronger than I, and then what will you fools do? Huh? What will you do!?"

"Well send them to hell," said Henry, "Like this!" with that he stomped the heal of his boot into Manos' head, crushing the skull of the mad mage and spilling his twisted brains onto the ground.

"And that's the end of that," said Henry as he wiped his boot on the still body of Manos.

"Oh that was just pathetic," said Naruto, "You could have said anything, something really cool, but what you said was just plain lame."

"Does it really matter what I say?" Henry asked, "Who's going to care?"

"Well we care," said Sasuke, "I have to agree with Naruto on this; you really could have made a better effort on what to say, Henry."

"I agree to," said Sakura.

"Well I don't care if Henry what says is cool or not," said Elaine, "Anything he says is cool to me."

"Couldn't agree more," said Clare as she helped Jacob up.

"I just realized something," said Chouji, "We won!"

"You're just realizing this now?" Shikamaru asked as a healer secured a gauze pad over his mutilated eye.

"What Chouji is implying," said Hinata, "Is that with Manos defeated, and the invasion averted," for indeed the remains of Manos' hoard were either surrendering in droves or still running west, "Both Clare and Henry can marry the ones they love."

"That's right!" Sakura said, "Henry and Elaine can be together now, and so can Clare and Jacob! Yes! Double wedding!!"

"Who said anything about a double wedding?" Clare asked, "I'm not ready to get married. Are you, darling?"

"Not just yet," said Jacob, "I thought we'd get married in the fall. I always liked all the colors of the leaves."

"Me to," said Clare.

"Well Elaine and I are getting married as soon as it can be arranged," said Henry, "That is, if it's what you want, Elaine."

"What I want?" Elaine asked in a slightly confused tone.

"That's right, Elaine," said Clare, "You're going to be Queen of Andalasia soon."

Elaine was speechless, but the way she looked at Henry, with absolute love and joy, and the equally loving and joyful look he gave her, spoke volumes.

"Well how soon can you get married?" Hinata asked.

"Not for at least a month or two," said Henry, "A lot of good people died these past few days, so it'd only be right to observe a time or mourning for those who fell in battle."

"Naturally," said Sasuke.

"We have our own dead to take care of," said Garra, "My fellow Sand Shinobi will collect our fallen and be on our way." Indeed, Kankuro, Temari and the remaining Sand ninjas were already packed, while their slain comrades were wrapped in makeshift burial shrouds.

"Do you have to leave so soon?" Naruto asked.

"It's a long way back to Sunagakure," said Kankuro, "And we Sand ninjas have our own funerary rituals to follow."

"Well if that's the case," said Naruto as he held out his hand, "Goodbye, Garra of the Deseret, may you always find water and shade."

"And may your dream be realized someday, Naruto Uzumaki," said Garra as he shook Naruto's hand. With that the Sand Shinobi departed for their home.

"Well I don't know about everyone else," said Naruto, "But I think I'm ready to head home to."

"That's probably the smartest thing I've ever heard you say, Naruto," said Sasuke, "And that's saying something."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing," Sasuke said idly as he and the others headed back to the fortress to collect their stuff.

"No, wait!" said Naruto, "What did you mean by that, 'the smartest thing I've ever heard you say'? what about that?!"

"It's nothing, Naruto," Sakura said, "Let's just go home."

"You can't just leave me hanging like this!" said Naruto, "I want answers! Come on, guys!"

The end of chapter 19.

Kiba: Another successful mission. Right, Akamaru?

Akamaru: Bark! (Right!)

Chouji: Then is it really over? We can go home now?

Hinata: Not just yet, there's one or two things left to do in Andalasia.

Kiba: Like what?

Tsunade: Like I finally have a chance to talk in the preview.

Shizune: I think what Lady Tsunade is trying to say is that she'll participate in tying up a lose end or two.

Tsunade: Exactly!

Sasuke: There'll be more than one lose end to tie up before this is completely over.

Sakura: You got that right.

Naruto: Next chapter; 'All's Well That Ends Well.'

Rock Lee: Be sure to leave lots of dynamic reviews!!


	24. Chapter 20: All’s well that Ends Well

**Chapter 20: All's well that Ends Well**

"Well I don't know about everyone else," said Naruto, "But I think I'm ready to head home."

"That's probably the smartest thing I've ever heard you say, Naruto," said Sasuke, "And that's saying something."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing," Sasuke said idly as he and the others headed back to the fortress to collect their stuff.

"No, wait!" said Naruto, "What did you mean by that, 'the smartest thing I've ever heard you say'? what about that?!"

"It's nothing, Naruto," Sakura said, "Let's just go home."

"You can't just leave me hanging like this!" said Naruto, "I want answers! Come on, guys!"

Just then Hinata tensed. There it was again, that feeling that she was being watched. All throughout the battle, in fact, ever since her arrival in Andalasia, she'd get the sensation that someone was spying on her, yet even with her Byakugan, she'd found nothing.

Just to be safe she activated her Kekkei Genkai and scanned the walls of the pass. Once gain there was nothing.

"You okay, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"I've been getting the strangest feeling that we're being watched," said Hinata, "It's been happening every now and then, but I haven't seen anything."

"Maybe you're just tired," said Clare, "We all are."

"No," said Neji, "I too have sensed that we've been spied upon, yet I also haven't detected anything."

"Looks like your Byakugan is on the fritz," said Kankuro.

"Maybe," said Sasuke in a slightly distant tone as he powered down his Sharingan. He too had the feeling that they were being watched, but what Sasuke sensed was a far more sinister presence than what Hinata and Neji picked up.

Unknown to Naruto and his friends as they headed back to the capital, they were indeed being watched, and this time by more than one party. On one side of the pass sat two familiar Shinigami.

"All in all I'd say we've outdone ourselves," said Malicious as he looked over the pages he written in his Death Note during the battle, twenty-two pages, single spaced, while Talon had only filled nineteen and a half. "Yes, this will make The Old Man rather pleased with us."

"I don't think anything we do will ever make The Shinigami King happy," said Talon, "But at least he won't bother us for being away for so long."

"Perhaps," said Malicious.

Coincidently, the majority of the names the two Shinigami wrote down had rather short life spans. That is, each enemy soldier killed by the Death Notes had less than a year to live. Just why the two Shinigami chose those soldiers to dispose of was their reason alone.

"On the other hand," said Talon, "With all the names we wrote down just now, the two of us will be able to take it easy for a while, just sit back and relax. What am I saying? There's nothing to do in our world except sit and gamble on empty stakes while the rest of the world rots away. That's why we went on this trip in the first place."

"Exactly," said Malicious, "Now that you've come to understand just how interesting humans are, perhaps you'd be willing to spend more time watching them."

"I might just do that," said Talon, "But still, we really pushed the envelope here. I mean, what if one of the enemy soldiers we killed was meant to kill one of the Andalasians? You remember what happened to Gealous when he became obsessed with that one human girl. And do I have to remind you of the fate of Rem?"

"We're still here, aren't we?" Malicious asked, "And there's no need to remind me of the fate of our fallen comrades, as if I'll ever forget them. But you need not worry about things that didn't happen to us. Here," he tossed Talon an apple, then bit into one for himself, "These are the last apples we'll get to enjoy for a while."

"Do we really have to go back to our world so soon?" Talon asked after swallowing, "I mean, can't we go get some apples to take with us?"

"I wish we could," said Malicious, "But we're way overdue back in our world. Despite all the work we've accomplished here, you wouldn't want to get the boss upset with us, now would you?"

"I guess not," said Talon as he and Malicious finished their apples, "Hey now, I just thought of something else; just how did you know that there would be a war in this world? How did you know what was going to happen here in the first place?"

"I told you before," said Malicious, his voice showing no trace of impatience, but inside, the Shinigami was fuming, "and I'll tell you again, I have my sources."

"That's not going to cut it with me this time," said Talon impatiently, "Spill it! What's your source?"

"A little bird told me," said Malicious in a tone that was half sarcastic and half serious, "Are you done asking questions? Because I'm going home now."

"Well if you're going," said Talon. With that the two Shinigami expanded their wings from their backs and prepared to take flight. High above the battlefield a rift in the fabric of reality opened, a rift invisible to human eyes.

"What about them?" Talon asked, pointing at Naruto and his friends.

"They'll be fine," said Malicious, "For now. They'll fine plenty of chances for trouble later."

"Let me guess," said Talon, "Your bird friend told you."

"Something like that," said Malicious. With that the two Shinigami entered the rift and returned to their world.

As Naruto and the others were blissfully unaware of the departure of the two Shinigami, little did they know that Sasuke's suspicions were correct; they were still being watched, by humans this time, but sinister humans in black and red robes…smocks…err, whatever it is the Akatsuki wear.

"We should do it now," said Kisame, his yellow eyes glinting with malice, "Now, while they're still exhausted."

"We will not," said Itachi in a cold, flat tone.

"Why the hell not!?" hissed Kisame while being careful to keep his voice down, "The vessel for the 9-Tailed Fox is right there, nearly unable to defend himself, and his friends are almost as worse off. We should acquire him now."

"No," said Itachi flatly.

"What's gotten into you lately?" Kisame asked, "Not only are Naruto and his friends exhausted, but so are the Andalasians. We may never get another chance like this, when Naruto is most vulnerable, so what the hell are we waiting for?"

"There are several reasons why we shouldn't attempt to capture Naruto at this time," said Itachi, "First of all, Tsunade is with Naruto."

"So?" Kisame asked, "We'll kill that old gambler as well."

"Maybe," said Itachi, "But there's another reason; your old comrade Zabuza is here as well."

"All the more reason to strike!" Kisame said eagerly as he unsheathed his chakra absorbing sword, "You grab Naruto, while I vivisect Zabuza. We'll solve two problems at once. And if Tsunade or anyone else get's in our way, we'll destroy them as well, it'll be fun."

"I'm sure it will," said Itachi, "But there's more; my brother is also here. He's with Naruto as we speak."

"So what!?" Kisame asked, "Last time you saw him, you trashed Sasuke without breaking a sweat. Sure it's been six years, and Sasuke has no doubt gotten stronger, but you're still more than a match for that little whelp. You'll just trap him in the darkness again with your Mangekyo Sharingan."

"That's the last problem," said Itachi, "And the worst; I have been unable to use my Sharingan for several days now."

It was then that Kisame then noticed that Itachi's eyes, normally red with the black swirls of the Sharingan, were like normal eyes, but with the whites, irises and pupils tinted a sickly pink. His eyelids were all puffy, while the corners had leaked out a drop or two of pus

"You're eyes!" said a shocked and disgusted Kisame, "They're…"

"Infected with Pink Eye," Itachi finished, "or some other malady, but whatever it is, it's in both eyes. I should have realized that Manos was up to something when we met with him. No doubt he had my wine cup contaminated by some means. Nevertheless, I can't fight in this condition. If I were to end up facing Sasuke, no doubt he would have the advantage. And with Tsunade, Zabuza and his apprentice Haku there as well, attempting to obtain Naruto would be suicide for the two of us."

"So now what do we do?" Kisame asked.

"Our only option is to withdraw," said Itachi, "For now. With Manos dead, we shall have to search for a cure for my eyes, assuming whatever he did to me doesn't wear off on its own. Then we shall wait, for some day, not today, not tomorrow, but someday soon, we will capture and take control of the 9-Tailed Fox, and I shall put my brother in his place once and for all."

Later…

After making sure that everything was alright in the capital, Naruto and his friends boarded a train for a relaxing ride back north. Henry and Clare offered to throw a farewell/victory combination feast in their honor, but surprisingly, our heroes politely refused, especially Naruto. No, what the Fighting Dreamers wanted the most was to go home and rest up.

There was a bit of concern around the health of Shikamaru and Tenten. The killing curse that grazed Tenten had killed all living tissue in her arm from the elbow down. With no choice but to amputate the dead lower limb, the healers then fitted Tenten with a mechanical arm that was completely functional, if not stronger than her old arm. Even better, the clockwork arm was enchanted so it could store a wide variety of weapons ranging from repeating crossbows to dart launchers; shuriken and kuni compartments, and even a grappling hook. Tenten was very pleased when she first tried out the net launcher feature.

For Shikamaru his eye was beyond repair, so having cleaned out the wound of dead tissue, and applying a special salve to prevent infection, Shikamaru was given a glass eye that, not only gave him back his sight, but could also see through walls and behind him, sort of like a combination of the Sharingan and Byakugan.

"I'd rather have my old eye," said Shikamaru in his usual shirking tone, "I was attached to it. But this will do."

So all in all things worked out for Naruto and his friends. He got what he wanted, a very exciting mission, while at the same time he and Hinata finally realized their feelings for each other. As for Sasuke, Sakura and the others, well, let's just say that they had a good time, even Tenten and Shikamaru.

As they were preparing to head home, Tsunade asked Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto to talk with her. Most of the assembled Shinobi from the allied villages had already left for home, but the Hokage, Shizune and a few others were staying in Andalasia for another day or so to tie up some lose ends, and it is one of these lose ends that Tsunade wanted to talk to Naruto and co.

"You wanted to see us, Lady Hokage?" Sakura asked.

"I certainly did, Sakura," said Tsunade, "What I'm about to tell the three of you is highly confidential and compromising, politically that is. If this gets out to the wrong people, it could send repercussions throughout all the Hidden Shinobi villages."

"Well what is it?" Naruto asked, "How bad could it be?"

"It's this," said Tsunade as she handed several sheets of parchment to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, "after Manos was killed, Shizune and several others went through the enemy camp for anything suspicious. They carefully examined Manos' tent, in case he had any last resort traps and such. Those documents are what they found, and they're worse than any weapon of mass destruction."

"Are these accurate?" Sasuke asked as he finished reading one sheet and started on another, "Have they been confirmed?"

"We won't know for sure until we actually act on this information," said Tsunade, "And there's the problem. If this turns out to be a hoax, there's the chance that a lot of bad blood could be stirred up. Manos may get his wish after all; we would have started another Great Shinobi War all on our own."

"This is serious," said Sakura, "A lot of innocents could die if we act rashly. On the other hand, if we let it go, a lot of rotten people will go unpunished."

"It's a risk we'll have to take," said Naruto, "Or, at least I'm willing to take it, if only to punish the baddies."

"You'd risk starting another war," said Sasuke, "After we just finished this one, just to arrest a handful of people. You really are a knucklehead, Naruto, and yes, I'm also willing to risk it."

"Same here," said Sakura, "No matter the risks, if an injustice has been committed, it has to be punished."

"You three really are something else," said Tsunade, her voice betraying her sense of pride in the youngsters, "Alright, as soon as I'm done here in Andalasia, I'll get started on things back home."

"And you can count on us to help," said Naruto, "We'll see you back at the village, Granny Tsunade!" With a grin he left for the train station.

"You little punk!!" exclaimed Tsunade, while Sasuke and Sakura offered apologetic looks as they hurried after Naruto, "One of these days I'm gonna cut you into little pieces!!"

"She'll do it," said Sakura to Naruto, "It's only a matter of time before you piss her off enough."

"Oh, she knows I'm only kidding," said Naruto in a casual manner, then switched to a more serious tone, "Besides, I'll have other things to worry about than Tsunade trying to slice me up."

"The Akatsuki," said Sasuke, he hadn't forgotten the sense that someone familiar and sinister was watching them as they left the battlefield, "my brother and his comrades are still out there."

"We'll deal with them," said Sakura, "Either we'll find them and kick their asses, or we'll kick their asses when they try to take Naruto again."

"We may not have to wait for Itachi and his friends to come and get me," said Naruto, "If the Akatsuki don't kill me when they take the demon out of my body, the demon will kill me anyway. Sooner or later I'll have to use the power of the 9-Tailed Fox again, and he'll try to force his way out of me.

"Pervy Sage warned me about this; if the demon tries to force the seal containing him, then not only will I die, there's also a chance that the demon will die as well. But he doesn't care, all the demon wants is out of my body."

"So we'll think of something," said Sasuke, "I mean, you and Sakura caught up with me and removed the curse mark," his hand went up to the back of his neck to where Orochimaru bit him so long ago, "And we just defeated a very powerful wizard, so I'm sure we'll figure out what to do about the demon."

"Like I told Sasuke before," said Sakura, "With hard work, dedication and a little love, anything is possible."

"Yeah," said Naruto, "That could work."

Finally, our heroes were ready to head back to the Hidden Leaf Village. At the Andraios train station goodbyes were said, with promises to stay in touch and to visit again.

"The wedding been set for three months from now," said Clare, "Both Henry and Elaine's, as well as mine and Jacob's."

"So it will be a double wedding," said Hinata, "I can't wait."

"Neither can I," said Clare. With that the two friends embraced, "I'll miss you, Hinata-Chan."

"I'll miss you too, Clare-Chan. Take care of Jacob."

"I'll be sure to," said Clare, "And you take care of Naruto."

"We'll take care of each other," said Naruto as he walked up to them, "Believe it."

Elsewhere in the station another goodbye was being made.

"I want a letter from you at least every other day," said Natalie, "And I want your promise that you'll visit as soon as you can."

"Wild wolves couldn't keep me away from you for long," said Kiba, "As soon as I can arrange it I'll be right back here." With that they kissed.

"It would seem," said Shino, "That our Kiba has found his soul mate."

"Indeed," said Neji, while Chouji, Shikamaru and Akamaru nodded in agreement.

Five minutes later the train pulled out of the station and headed north.

"Well," said Naruto, "That was fun."

"Fun?" Shikamaru asked, "You called that fun? I lost an eye, Tenten lost her arm, and the rest of us nearly got killed by a psycho wizard, and you're calling this mission fun?!"

"Well, yes," said Naruto, "It was fun."

"Okay," said Shikamaru, "Just checking."

"Who's the knucklehead now?" said Ino.

"Well I had fun," said Kiba, "Believe it."

"You've been spending way too much time around Naruto," said Neji, "But I must agree, this mission had its enjoyable moments."

"True," said Tenten as she flexed her new arm to get the kinks out.

"It was alright," said Chouji as he munched on some popcorn.

"Yeah," agreed Ino, while Shino, Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke nodded.

"But let's keep the really fun missions to a minimum for a while," said Shikamaru, "At least until my new eye has fully adjusted to my brain."

"And such a lovely brain it is," said Ino in a sarcastic tone, "We wouldn't want anything to happen to it."

"What?" Shikamaru asked as he noticed that everyone was giving him a strange look, "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Ninja Noogie!!" exclaimed Chouji as he grabbed Shikamaru with one arm and grinded the knuckles of his other hand into Shikamaru's head.

"Stop that!!" exclaimed Shikamaru, "Chouji, I thought we were friends!"

"We are," said Chouji as he let Shikamaru go, "All of us, believe it!"

"Stop saying my phrase!!" shouted Naruto, while everyone else laughed.

The E…

Naruto: Wait! There's still the epilog!


	25. Epilog: Looking Back and Moving Forward

**Epilog: Looking Back and Moving Forward**

…four months after Sasuke's trial…

"It gives me great honor," said Tsunade, "And a respectable amount of pleasure, to reinstate you, Sasuke Uchiha, as a ninja of The Hidden Leaf Village."

"Thank you, Lady Hokage," said Sasuke as Tsunade handed him his old forehead protector, which had been cleaned and the scratch filled in.

"Welcome back, Sasuke," said Naruto.

"Things just haven't been the same without you," said Sakura.

After four months on probation, Tsunade had decreed that Sasuke had paid his debt to the village and was ready to resume his duties as a Leaf Village Shinobi. So it was only natural that he was put back with his old team.

"So," said Tsunade, "Now that you three are working together again, it's time for your next mission."

"Oh man," grumbled Naruto, "Already? I thought we could have the day off to celebrate."

"You can celebrate later," said Tsunade in a stern tone, "Work first."

"What about Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asked, "Shouldn't he be here for the mission briefing?"

"He'll be along," said Naruto, "I'll bet he's enjoying one of Pervy Sage's books, probably rereading 'Make-out Paradise' for the thousandth time."

"More likely the two-thousandth time," said Sakura.

"Actually," said Shizune, "Kakashi Hitake is currently outside of the village. Apparently he and Might Guy are seeing who can run to the Hidden Mountain Village and back in the shortest time. No doubt they'll want to do a second lap when they return, so this mission will be just for the three of you."

"Some things never change," said Sasuke as he, Sakura and Naruto left the Hokage's office. Having been informed of their mission (bodyguard duty in the Hidden Jungle Village) they were heading back to their respective domiciles to pack for the journey.

"I wonder," said Sakura, "Just what won't Kakashi-Sensei and Guy-Sensei compete each other over?"

"The sky is the limit," said Naruto. It was then that two familiar and unpleasant figures approached them.

"Well look who it is," said Ryu Saito in a sarcastic and slightly insulting tone, "Naruto Uzumaki, the man of the hour. I must congratulate you on your recent promotion." Indeed, Naruto was promoted to the Chûnin level without having to take the exam again. Tsunade pulled a few strings with the village council, saying that the village owed Naruto that much.

"And here we have Sasuke Uchiha," said Jubei Akima in an equally insulting and sarcastic manner, "Back among the Shinobi fold, and a Chûnin as well, I applauded you." he then clapped his hands in false praise.

"You two gonna stand there making fun of us all day?" Naruto asked, "Or are you gonna let us get back to work?"

"Oh I do apologize," mocked Ryu Saito, "I wouldn't want to upset the demon, now would I?"

"Say that again!" said Sasuke as he gripped a kuni knife, "I dare you!"

"Once again the Uchiha boy reveals his true colors," said Jubei Akima, "A pardoned traitor is still a traitor in my book."

"In case you haven't noticed," said Sakura, irritated that her friends were being insulted, and that she had been ignored, "But we're late for our next mission. You got a problem with that, take it up with Lady Tsunade. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that you're delaying official Village business."

There was a tense minute as both sides glared at each other, before the two village elders backed off. "Publicly we can't do anything about this situation," said Jubei Akima, "But you three whelps should watch your steps. Horrible things tend to happen on their own." With that he and Ryu Saito walked away.

"Those two are certifiable, grade-A assholes," said Naruto once the two village elders were out of earshot, earning a round of giggles from both Sakura and Sasuke. Quickly regaining their composure, they continued on their way, but were soon interrupted again, but this time it was a more pleasant interruption.

"Naruto," said Hinata as she caught up with the trio.

"Hinata," said Naruto, "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing really," said Hinata in her usual shy manner as her fingers rubbed together, "I just wanted to congratulate Sasuke on his reinstatement."

"Thanks, Hinata," said Sasuke.

"I wonder if anyone else is gonna come around and congratulate you?" Sakura asked.

"Who knows?" Hinata said, "By now the whole village has learned that you're a Leaf Village Shinobi again, Sasuke."

"Then we'd better hurry," said Naruto, "We're late enough as it is."

"Oh, well I won't hold you up," said Hinata. With that she went on her way.

"Oh, Hinata!" said Naruto.

"Yes!?" said a slightly startled Hinata.

"Wanna hang out when I get back?" Naruto asked, "You know, just to talk?"

"Yes," said Hinata, "yes, that'd be nice." She gave Naruto a nervous smile then walked around the corner.

"I really don't get her sometimes," said Naruto as he headed towards his apartment.

"That knucklehead," said Sakura to Sasuke once Naruto was out of earshot, "He really grinds my gears sometimes. How thick can he be to not see that Hinata has the crush to end all crushes on him?"

"Just give them time," said Sasuke, "Eventually, Naruto and Hinata will fully realize their feelings for each other."

"Like we did?" Sakura asked.

"Well you and I are something else," said Sasuke, "But sometimes it's best to let nature take its course."

"Maybe," said Sakura, "But if Hinata can't get over her inhibitions, and if Naruto doesn't wise up, then I'll have to step in. Call it meddling and whatnot, but I'll figure out something to get those two together, or my name's Oglethorpe, and it's not." With that she and Sasuke left for their homes to prepare for the mission.

…**present day…**

Tsunade sat at her desk, her hands clasped in anticipation of what may result in civil war in the village, should tonight go horribly wrong. She stood up and stretched to relieve the tension, then bent down to scratch Tonton behind his ears, when the expected knock on the door came.

"Come," said Tsunade. The door opened and in stepped Shizune.

"Lady Tsunade," said Shizune, "They have them."

"Good," said Tsunade in a neutral tone, while inside she was sighing with relief, "Bring them to the basement.

Downstairs the same cage that held Sasuke during his captivity before his trial, had been reassembled so it could hold two occupants with reasonable comfort.

Tsunade, accompanied by Shizune and ten Jônin and five members of the Anbu Black Ops, waited as Kakashi, Guy, Iruka, Ebisu and ten more Anbu operatives, brought in two bound, blindfolded and gagged men.

"Take off the blindfolds," said Tsunade, "I want these scumbags to get a look at their new home.

Ebisu and Iruka removed the blindfolds, revealing the two captives to be Jubei Akima and Ryu Saito, both of which looked dishelmed and extremely frightened.

"Well now," said Tsunade, "Looks like the tables have been turned."

The two bound elders mumbled incoherently against their gags.

"What's that?" Tsunade asked, "You have something to say? Well I guess we'd better her it then."

Kakashi and Guy removed the gags.

"What is the meaning of this, Tsunade!?" Ryu Saito asked, "How dare you treat us like criminals!"

"Oh but you are criminals," said Tsunade, "Both of you, and your comrades across the Shinobi Nations."

"What are you talking about?!" Jubei Akima asked, "We've done nothing wrong!"

"I beg to differ," said Tsunade, "Shizune, the documents."

From a briefcase, Shizune took out several pieces of parchment.

"What is this?" Ryu Saito asked.

"This," said Shizune, "And several other documents, proves that the two of you, as well as elders from almost a dozen Hidden Villages, conspired with Manos to assassinate your village leaders and start a new Ninja War."

"This is outrageous!!" exclaimed Jubei Akima, "I am a senior member of the Anbu Black Ops, my loyalty to the village is beyond question!!"

"As is my loyalty!" said Ryu Saito, "These allegations are a pack of lies!"

"That's what they said in Sunagakure," said Garra as he, Temari and Kankuro emerged from the shadows.

"We questioned three Hidden Sand elders," said Kankuro, "It didn't take them long to confess that they, on Manos' orders, hired the assassins who tried to kill Garra."

"And it didn't take much longer to name you two as accomplices," said Temari, "You and several more. As we speak your comrades in treason in nearly a dozen Hidden Villages are being arrested."

"Lady Tsunade," said Jubei Akima, "You would believe the word of a murdering psychopath over that of two of your most loyal advisers? I am shocked."

"I trust the word of Garra any day of the week," said Tsunade, "That's one gamble I want to win and expect to collect on."

"This is an outrage!" shouted Ryu Saito, "I demand to speak with my attorney!!"

"Mine as well!" said Jubei Akima.

"You'll have all the time you need to talk with your lawyers," said Tsunade, "But first things first. Book them!"

The two disgraced elders were unceremoniously shoved into the cage, which Tsunade locked and sealed with several protective Jutsus to make sure nobody got in or out.

"You'll pay for this, Tsunade!!" exclaimed Ryu Saito, "You may have captured us, but when Lord Manos comes, he will free his loyal servants, and reward us with torturing you to death!"

"I guess that can count as an admission of guilt," said Tsunade.

"It is true," said Jubei Akima, "We have been loyal disciples of Lord Manos from the beginning. When the true master of the world comes, he'll make us rulers of this pathetic village, and he'll make you beg for death before he's done with you!!"

"Your master is dead," said Tsunade, "The two of you aren't going anywhere, so just sit and chill. We'll decide your fates later." With several Jônin and Anbu operatives keeping guard, Tsunade and co left the basement.

"That went better than expected," said Tsunade, "I honestly thought that those two might drag the village into civil war."

"No chance of that, Lady Hokage," said Ebisu as he straightened his sunglasses, "As we speak, young Konohamaru and his friends are spreading the word of the traitors arrest, as well as copies of the incriminating documents, so there will be little question of guilt."

"Excellent," said Tsunade, "I just hope that things are going as smoothly in the other affected villages."

"Speaking of which," said Kankuro, "We'd best be on our way."

"Must you leave so soon?" Shizune asked.

"We have pressing matters to attend to back in our village," said Garra, "I'm sure you understand."

"Completely," said Tsunade, "Farewell, Garra of the Desert, and thank you." With that she, Shizune and co bowed

"My you always find water and shade, Lady Tsunade," said Garra as he, Temari and Kankuro bowed, "Until we meet again."

The sand siblings turned to leave, but then Garra paused, "There is one thing I wish to ask of. When you next speak to Naruto, tell him that my participation in today's events more than make up for his saving my life again. Tell him that we are no longer even; he owes me now."

"I'll be sure to pass that along," said Tsunade.

"I too have a request," said Temari, but Kankuro stopper her from going any further.

"Don't," said Kankuro, "I'm sure Shikamaru remembers the last one."

"You never let me have any fun," pouted Temari as the sand siblings headed for home.

"I wonder if young Shikamaru knows what he's gotten himself into," said Guy.

"A lot more than he can imagine," Kakashi said idly as he turned the page of his book.

…meanwhile…

Naruto and the other Fighting Dreamers stood atop the mountain with the Hokage's faces, admiring the view.

"I can see why you come up here so often, Naruto," said Neji, "Amazing."

"Indeed," said Shino as he polished his sunglasses for better viewing, "I think I can see my house from here."

"Mine to," said Chouji after swallowing a mouthful of dried fruit.

"So can I," said Shikamaru as his new enchanted eye zoomed in on his house, "I can even see through my bedroom window. I knew I forgot something, mom's gonna throw a fit when she finds out I didn't clean my room today."

"I think Naruto has a different view in mind," said Ino. Where our heroes were standing, Tsunade's face on the mountain was on their left. Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura were standing above the face of the current Hokage.

"I can see it now," said Naruto, "My face will go right next to Granny Tsunade's, maybe a bit higher or lower, depending on how it's carved."

"Then you really are serious about it," said Kiba, "You're gonna be Hokage someday."

"He's been serious about it for all his life," said Sakura, "Where have you been? On the moon?"

"No," said Chouji in a teasing tone, "He's been in Andalasian, with Natalie."

"You leave her out of this!" said Kiba, while Akamaru softly growled 'Or else.'

"Well I for one believe that Naruto would make an outstanding Hokage," said Rock Lee.

"As do I," said Neji, "I had more than my share of doubts in the past, but now I believe."

"So do I," said Tenten.

"Same here," said Shino, while Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino nodded in agreement.

"I guess we're in it now," said Sasuke, "We're all gonna have to help Naruto realize his dream, while at the same time strive to achieve our own dreams as well."

"Shouldn't be too hard," said Sakura, "After all, we're The Fighting Dreamers, right?"

"Oh, Miss Sakura!" exclaimed Lee, who had hearts in his eyes, "Your words have stirred my heart once again!"

"Oh give it a rest, Bushy Brows," Neji sighed.

"What about you, Hinata," said Shino, "We haven't heard your beliefs."

"I think both Hinata and Naruto are preoccupied at the moment," said Kiba.

No words were spoken between Naruto and Hinata, none were needed to be spoken. A silent but clear message passed between them as blue eyes gazed into pale lavender eyes, and vice versa.

'I love you.'

The End.

Wow, I can't believe it's over, my most ambitious fic yet. I hope you've had fun reading it as much as I've had writing. Until my next idea rolls out of my head and onto the internet, see you then!!


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